Store Owner Who Sold Record Winning Lottery Ticket Arrested For Tax Evasion

The store owner who sold a record winning lottery ticket in 2018 has been arrested on tax evasion charges.

Chirag Jayanti Patel, who owns the KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina, is accused of failing to report over $2 million in sales between 2013 and 2017, therefore evading $123,044 in sales tax. He has been charged with five counts of tax evasion.

The 49-year-old was thrust into the spotlight in October 2018 when his store sold a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot lottery ticket. The winner, who declined to be identified, received a lump-sum payment of $877,784,124. Patel’s store was to receive $50,000 for selling the ticket.

“It’s a lucky store for me and them, too,” Patel told reporters at the time.

Patel is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison as well as a fine of $10,000 per count, plus court costs. Patel is being held in the Greenville County Detention Center.