REEDSVILLE, Wis. (WFRV) – A man from Reedsville has been charged with theft and tax fraud for allegedly stealing lottery tickets from his place of employment and defrauding the Wisconsin Lottery.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Matthew Buchholz has been charged with one felony count of Theft (>$10,000 – $100,000), three counts of Filing a False or Fraudulent State Income Tax Return, and one felony count of Theft – False Representation.

A criminal complaint states that Buchholz allegedly stole lottery tickets worth between $10,000 and $100,000 from his place of employment and reportedly collected the winnings from the stolen tickets and failed to report any of this income on his income tax returns. 

The three counts of Filing a False or Fraudulent State Income Tax Return were for the years 2017 through 2019, authorities say.

The complaint alleges that Buchholz filed tax returns and understated income by more than $300,500, evading over $20,000 in Wisconsin income tax.

The unreported income came from winnings on lottery tickets and the cost of the lottery tickets that were stolen.

If convicted on all counts, Buchholz faces a maximum penalty of up to 31 years and six months in prison and/or $65,000 in fines. 

The investigation into Buchholz was conducted by the Reedsville Police Department, the Department of Revenue Office of Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Revenue Division of Lottery.

No additional information was provided. Local 5 will update this story when new details are released.