HURON COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT) – A Battle Creek man has pleaded guilty to felony charges after using stolen credit card information to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of lottery tickets.
According to the Huron County Prosecutor’s Office, Ruben Darnell Whimper entered a guilty plea on Monday to false pretenses involving $1,000 to $20,000—a felony.
The case dates back to February 2025, when police responded to a report from a local party store. The store had discovered over $7,000 in Michigan Lottery tickets had been fraudulently purchased using stolen credit card data.
Surveillance footage from the store, along with redemption records from the Michigan Lottery, helped investigators track the purchases to a Walmart in Bad Axe. Video from the store confirmed Whimper’s identity.
Further investigation revealed that Whimper had also redeemed tickets at Meijer locations in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. Authorities used facial recognition, cell phone records, and bank data to link Whimper to the fraud scheme.
A second suspect, Hason Smith, was also charged in connection with the case, but the Huron County Prosecutor’s Office has not yet provided an update on his legal status.
