A husband and wife couple from Spain have been sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to cheat a lottery winner out of over €11 million (US$12 million). They were also ordered to return the stolen money to the victim. The couple, who own a bar in Pedralba, a small town near Valencia, took advantage of a unique number system used in Spanish lottery tickets to carry out their scam.
The victim, who remains unidentified, was a regular customer at the couple’s bar and would often buy three lottery tickets each week. Two of the tickets would have the same numbers, 10,123 and 12,396, while the third would be a random number. On one occasion, the victim chose the number 39,813, which turned out to be the winning number for a €14.8 million jackpot.
When the winning numbers were announced, it was discovered that all four players at the bar, including the victim, had winning tickets. However, only the victim’s ticket had the correct series number to claim the jackpot. The couple, along with another friend and a different regular customer, also had the winning number.
The couple then coerced the victim into splitting the prize four ways, claiming that the tickets had been mixed up and it was impossible to determine the true winner. They locked the door of the bar to prevent anyone else from entering and showed the winning tickets to the victim. The victim, confused and under pressure, agreed to split the prize.
After a lengthy legal battle lasting six years, the court ruled that the victim had been misled into believing she did not have the winning ticket and was entitled to the full prize. The victim’s lawyers criticized the complexity and length of the case, calling it excessive.
This case serves as a reminder to lottery players to exercise caution and be aware of potential scams, especially when dealing with large sums of money. It is essential to verify winning tickets independently and seek legal advice if necessary to protect oneself from fraud and manipulation.
