Englewood gas station employee accused of stealing more than $20K of scratch-offs

A man was arrested on Monday after being accused of stealing scratch-off tickets from an Englewood gas station where he was employed.On June 11, deputies with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office responded to the Marathon Gas Station on Placida Road after the manager reported he believed an employee, identified as Naveen Gupta, 48, stole scratch-off tickets and cashed them in at a nearby Publix, the arrest report said. The thefts were believed to have taken place between May 18 and June 7. The incident was discovered when the manager noticed a $20,100 discrepancy in the accounting bookkeeping, the report said.The manager told deputies he suspected Gupta due to the fact that Gupta was the only other person in the store with the ability to activate the lottery books. The manager also said he had noticed Gupta disabling security cameras randomly during his shift.Deputies then obtained security footage from a Publix located on Placida Road. The footage showed three separate instances where Gupta entered the store and cashed in scratch-off tickets while wearing a camouflage hat, glasses and an earring, deputies said.On Monday, deputies said Gupta arrived at his manager's other store, Discount Wine & Smoke Shop on South Beneva Road, and asked the manager to rehire him so he could pay off the debt he owed from stealing the lottery tickets. The manager refused.Gupta then followed the manager back to the Marathon Gas Station, which is when the manager contacted CCSO deputies.Gupta was arrested and faces a charge of grand theft.DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.