CHARGED: 21-year-old Racine man accused of stealing scratch-off tickets from gas station he worked at

RACINE COUNTY (WITI) -- A 21-year-old Racine man has been charged -- accused of stealing $35,000 worth of lottery tickets from his employer. Khalid Oates worked at the Clark gas station on Washington Avenue in Racine, and he's charged with theft in a business setting -- over $10,000.

A criminal complaint filed against Oates says the manager of the Clark gas station contacted Racine police -- saying that Oates had stolen over $35,000 worth of lottery tickets from the gas station between October 2013 and May 2014. The store's owner and manager apparently didn't notice this was happening until June 2014.

Police say Oates admitted to stealing a large quantity of scratch-off ticekts, and also provided a written confession.

Oates told an assistant manager at the gas station he had stolen the tickets to pay off a debt, according tot he complaint. He would apparently take the tickets home, scratch them off and then cash them in at different gas station. Oates told the assistant manager he had been taking the "Big Play Crossword" books and mainly $10 and $20 lottery card books.

Oates explained that he was able to figure out the blind spots on the store's security system and he would place books of lottery tickets into his backpack while he was working.

Paperwork accounting for the amount of lottery tickets purchased by the gas station showed that between October 2013 and May 2014, there was a shortage of $43,369.