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Putnam connection as trio held in $2 million fraudulent lottery claim
By ERIC BERNSEE
Editor
Two of three suspects alleged to have falsely redeemed a $2 million-winning Hoosier Lottery scratch-off ticket have been arrested at Heritage Lake where they reportedly bought a house with their illicit prize money.
Brothers Jackie H. Parsley II, 35, of Avon, and Joseph C. Parsley, 32, of 8 Mill Springs, Coatesville (Heritage Lake), were arrested at the Putnam County home Wednesday afternoon on a Marion County warrant served by Indiana State Police with assistance from Putnam County Sheriff's Deputies Adam Hull and Lt. Donnie Pettit.
The two men were lodged in the Putnam County Jail, while their alleged accomplice, Ashlee (Campbell) Parsley, was arrested and booked into the Hendricks County Jail at Danville.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced Thursday that his office had filed charges against the three suspects allegedly involved in the fraudulent October 2014 claim of a $2 million Hoosier Lottery prize.
The winning lottery ticket is believed to have been falsely redeemed by Ashlee Campbell, then the fiancée of Joseph Parsley, who was associated with the owner and manager of Parsley's Liquor store on U.S. 40 in Plainfield. The liquor store at one time was an authorized Hoosier Lottery retailer.
The three suspects all have been charged with corrupt business influence (Level 5 felony), false passing of a lottery ticket (Level 5 felony), theft (Level 5 felony), two counts of theft (Class A misdemeanor), four counts of forgery (Level 6 felony) and five counts of money laundering (Level 6 felony).
Additionally, Jackie Parsley II is charged with unauthorized purchase of a lottery ticket by a retailer (Class A misdemeanor).
Ashlee (Campbell) Parsley is also charged with perjury (Level 6 felony) for asserting under oath on the Hoosier Lottery's Winner Claim Form that as purchaser of the ticket she was not prohibited by law from purchasing a lottery ticket. Indiana law prohibits a retailer or employee of the retailer from purchasing lottery tickets at the premises where the retailer is authorized to sell tickets.
A joint investigation between the Hoosier Lottery Security Division and the Marion County Prosecutor's Office Grand Jury Division began last November when the estate executor for the late owner of Parsley's Liquor reported his suspicions to the Hoosier Lottery.
The Plainfield store has since been sold and now operates under a new name and owners.
The license to sell lottery products at Parsley's Liquor was not renewed in June 2014, due to a pending sale of the store. The scratch-off ticket dispensers had been removed, and the lottery terminal was deactivated by the Hoosier Lottery.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the estate executor told investigators he heard there had been a winning lottery ticket sold from the business. When he researched the publicly available winning ticket information, he found Ashlee Campbell had claimed the jackpot of a "100X The Cash" scratch-off game with the top prize of $2 million.
Ashlee Campbell was known to him as the fiancée of Joseph Parsley. He told authorities that Jackie Parsley II, who was the manager of Parsley's Liquor and brother of Joseph Parsley, had not told him about a winning ticket being sold and claimed from the packs of tickets owned by Parsley's Liquor.
The investigation determined on Sept. 26, 2014, a pack of Hoosier Lottery scratch-off tickets containing one of the game's top prizes was activated by Jackie Parsley II at Parsley's Liquor on the store's newly reactivated terminal. Between Sept. 26 and Oct. 5, seven tickets from the same pack were redeemed for amounts ranging between $20 and $50 at other Hoosier Lottery retailers.
On Oct. 3, 2014, Ashlee Campbell redeemed the lottery ticket with the top prize of $2 million at Lottery headquarters in Indianapolis. Video surveillance viewed with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service computer forensic examination unit confirmed the timeline of events.
Marion County Prosecutor's Office officials said a separate civil forfeiture action has been filed on cash and property believed to be purchased with the Parsleys' illicit lottery winnings. Investigators have seized three pickup trucks, two SUVs and a box trailer. They have also frozen a bank account worth $550,000 and seized the home being renovated at Heritage Lake.
An initial court hearing will be set in Marion County after the suspects are transferred to the Marion County Jail.
Following a Marion County Prosecutor's Office press conference Thursday, Hoosier Lottery spokesman Carrie Stroud released a statement.
"The Hoosier Lottery's security and other team members were gratified to assist law enforcement with this investigation, which is now being taken up by the Marion County court system," Stroud said.
"We will continue supporting authorities as necessary and will let the justice system run its course," she added. "Throughout the Lottery's more than 25 years of existence, we have and will continue to update our security procedures to ensure the integrity of the Hoosier Lottery."