A Schuylkill County couple who made headlines for a big lottery win are among four people accused of stealing more than $175,000 from their employer.

And police say that a portion of the stolen money was used for lottery tickets.Pottsville residents Joan Marie Lechleitner, 51, Kerry T. Titus, 54, Samantha M. Schaeffer, 25, and Tyler Michael Schappell, 21, now face felony charges in connection with the alleged thefts.Police have accused the group of stealing $175,082.11 from Cressona Agway, located on N. 2nd St. in the borough, over the last five years.Titus, the manager of the store and Lechleitner, the bookkeeper, were both seen on camera taking money out of the store’s register. In some cases, they immediately purchased lottery tickets from a separate lottery register located inside the store, in others they were seen coming back with lottery tickets a few minutes later.A forensic audit of the store’s books determined the amount they allegedly stole was approximately 12 times as much as was actually returned to the store — about $16,000 — during that time.The scam allegedly consisted of the employees ringing in returns that did not take place, then pocketing the cash themselves.In the midst of the thefts, Lechleitner and Titus, who are engaged, won $261,904.50 with a lottery ticket that they purchased at the same store. It’s unclear whether the ticket was purchased with stolen money.In published reports about the win, Lechleitner noted that a $500 seller’s bonus from the lottery would go to the owner of the Agway.Police said that the thefts put the business in the red, resulting in the owner having to take out personal loans in order to keep it afloat.About a year before he discovered the thefts, the owner reportedly asked Lechleitner if he could take over bookkeeping — but he told police that she convinced him to let her continue the job, and that she would take a $5,000-per-year pay cut.In January, the owner started documenting all the store’s internal register tapes, something that had not been done in the past. He discovered numerous even-dollar returns. Combined with the surveillance footage, police were able to detect a pattern.In March, the defendants all admitted their role in the scam to police.On Tuesday, they turned themselves in and were arraigned on identical charges. They each face felony charges of theft, theft by deception, and receiving stolen property, as well as a misdemeanor charge of tampering with records.They were arraigned before Judge James Ferrier and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.Preliminary hearings have been set for July 5 at 11:30 a.m.