SC women cashed in 369 lottery tickets in a week. Here’s why they were arrested
Two women were recently arrested for cashing in hundreds of lottery tickets from the store where they were stolen, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Chesterfield County residents Darlene F. Helms, 67, and Yoisha Renee Merrell Chambers, 47, were arrested May 14, SLED said Monday in a news release.
Both women were charged with intent to defraud (counterfeit game tickets), according to the release. Helms and Chambers also were each charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent (value $10,000 or more), Chesterfield County court records show.
The charges stem from crimes in March, when the women are accused of stealing lottery tickets from In & Out Mini Mart, a gas station/convenience store, where both women worked, arrest warrants show. That’s in Pageland, at 1210 West McGregor Street.
From March 11-18, Helms and Chambers brought the 369 stolen scratch-off lottery games back to the convenience store and redeemed the winning tickets for $11,478, according to arrest warrants.
That’s an average of more than $31 per winning ticket, and there was no word about how many scratch-off lottery games were stolen from the store.
The actions at the store were recorded on surveillance footage, arrest warrants show.
Following their arrests, Helms and Chambers were booked into the Chesterfield County Detention Center, SLED said.
Bond was set at $5,000 for each charge and both women were issued personal recognizance bonds, which were posted the same day they were arrested, court records show.
The 4th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute both women, according to SLED.
The SLED investigation was requested by the South Carolina Education Lottery.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM with the headline "SC women cashed in 369 lottery tickets in a week. Here’s why they were arrested."
