TAMARAC, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A Florida Department of Lottery investigation into an alleged stolen winning ticket has landed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, with prosecutors reviewing felony charges tied to a $115,733.61 Fantasy 5 prize claim that investigators say should have gone to someone else.
The case is being handled in the 15th Judicial Circuit, which covers Palm Beach County, after state lottery law enforcement agents arrested 26-year-old Areeb Jawed and booked him on Jan. 8, according to an arrest report and court records.
Investigators allege Jawed showed up at the Florida Lottery’s district office in West Palm Beach on Oct. 30, 2025, and presented a Fantasy 5 draw ticket flagged by serial number as a winner worth $115,733.61. The arrest report says Jawed provided a completed lottery claim form and a Florida driver license, which staff verified and scanned as part of the claim process.
Lottery officials then initiated an electronic verification, described in the report as a wire communication sent through the Florida Lottery’s closed telecommunications system from the West Palm Beach office to the agency’s headquarters in Leon County. The arrest report states that electronic communication played a critical role in the alleged offense.
The investigation centers on where the ticket came from.
According to the arrest report, the ticket had been reported stolen earlier in October from a location in North Lauderdale in Broward County. The report ties the theft to the Marathon Gas at 1050 SW 81st Ave., and alleges the ticket was stolen on Oct. 2, 2025.
Jawed is charged with defrauding to obtain property valued at $50,000 or more, grand theft over $100,000, and filing a false claim for payment, according to the arrest report and the Palm Beach County Clerk.
The arrest report also describes admissions investigators say Jawed made after the claim attempt. A Florida Lottery special agent wrote that on Nov. 24, 2025, Jawed spoke by telephone after verifying his identity and said he received the ticket from his uncle around Oct. 22, 2025, with instructions to cash it in for him without identifying who actually possessed it. The report says Jawed identified his uncle’s full name during that interview, which investigators verified during the investigation, and described his uncle’s place of business as the same North Lauderdale address where the ticket was reported stolen.
The report says investigators later interviewed Jawed again on Jan. 5, 2026, at his home in Broward County. During that interview, the report states, Jawed “explained the scheme” and acknowledged that he falsely submitted the lottery claim form to obtain the $115,733.61 payout.
A first appearance was held Jan. 9, and the docket reflects probable cause was found. Bond amounts listed on the docket include $25,000, $25,000, and $5,000 across the charges. The same docket shows a release listed “as to this county only” on surety bond on Jan. 13.
The next key step on the court calendar is a “State to File Charges” hearing set for Feb. 12, 2026, according to the docket. That is the procedural checkpoint where the State Attorney’s Office indicates whether formal charges will be filed and how the case will proceed.
As filed, the matter is being routed for review within the State Attorney’s Office, White Collar Crime Unit, according to the arrest report.
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