iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Indian- American convenience store owner once known for selling a winning $1.5 billion Mega Millions lottery in South Carolina has been arrested and charged with five counts of tax evasion announced the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR), March 12.
Chirag Jayanti Patel, 49, of Simpsonville operates Greenville County convenience store chain, K C Mart.
He has been alleged of underreporting taxable sales each year from 2013 through 2017, according to arrest warrants. Over those years, Patel failed to report a total of $2,044,737 in sales. In doing so he evaded $123,044 in Sales Tax.
In 2018, Patel gained fame when his store located on 303 Lee Vaughn Road in Simpsonville was called lucky for winning the jackpot. Patel must have received 1 percent of the $1.5 billion jackpot.
Patel during an interview in 2018 called his store, ‘lucky’ for him and the winner. And a banner that read, “Luck Struck Here!” was hung at the entrance of the store by the South Carolina Education Lottery officials.
According to the press release, if convicted, Patel faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000 per count, plus the cost of prosecution. He is being held in the Greenville County Detention Center pending a bond.
