Lower Burrell police accuse 3 people of altering game-of-chance payout slips to inflate winnings

Three people are accused of stealing more than $5,000 from businesses in Lower Burrell and Allegheny Township by using computers to alter the payout slips from games-of-chance machines to a higher amount.

Lower Burrell and Westmoreland County detectives said the suspects had computers and a printer in their vehicle so they could alter the amounts on the payout slips, including changing some for as little as $1 into as much as $700.

Matthew James Cubberley, 36, of the 500 block of Lougeay Road in Penn Hills was charged with two counts of theft and counts of forgery and receiving stolen property, which are felonies, along with a count of possession of an instrument of crime.

Kelly Louise Andres, 54, of the 3000 block of Auberle Street in McKeesport was charged with two counts of felony theft and a count of felony receiving stolen property along with possession of an instrument of crime.

Ryan Leonard Black, 51, of the 900 block of Lincoln Way in White Oak was charged with misdemeanor counts of forgery, theft, receiving stolen property and possession of an instrument of crime.

Charges were filed against them Thursday, but they have not yet been arraigned on the charges, according to court records.

Investigators wrote in a criminal complaint that on Aug. 2 the owners of the New Aira Vape Shop on Leechburg Road reported that, over the course of several weeks, they paid about $3,000 in cash for five bogus payout slips from their games-of-chance machines.

Four days later, police were called back to the store for an unrelated theft report and learned that Cubberley and Andres fled the scene in a gold Mercury SUV.

Witnesses told police that a man fled from the SUV on foot holding what appeared to be a laptop after the vehicle was driven down Adamchik Street, which is a dead end. The female passenger got behind the wheel and drove through a yard to flee onto Alder Street, the complaint said.

The SUV was stopped in New Kensington and towed so police could get a search warrant for the vehicle. Investigators said Andres had several payout slips in her purse. They also found a wallet with payout slips and Cubberley’s state-issued ID card and Social Security card inside, the complaint said.

Police found Cubberley after witnesses told them he had fled toward Wachter Avenue. He agreed to show officers where he hid the laptops and binder he was carrying when he ran from the SUV.

Two laptops and a binder filled with bogus payout sheets from various businesses were confiscated, police said.

Cubberley told police that the scheme involved playing games of chance until a payout slip was printed and then using the laptops and printer to create a duplicate with a higher payout amount, the complaint said.

Investigators said the bogus payout slips also were used to steal from the Food Mart on South Leechburg Hill Road in Allegheny Township. They said the suspects had accumulated payout slips they planned to alter for 70 other locations in the area.