Paris (AP) – A thief used the stolen card to purchase French lottery tickets worth 500,000 euros ($523,000). But they disappeared before cashing – and now they are one of France’s most famous fugitives.
The man whose card was identified as Jean David E in police documents was stolen, offers to split the cash with the lucky winner. He also wants to get his wallet back.
Meanwhile, thieves face the risk of arrest. As of Saturday, state lottery operator LaFrançaise Des Jeux, or FDJ, said no one had submitted a ticket to cash out.
“It’s incredible, but it’s all true,” Jean David’s lawyer Pierre Devousson told the Associated Press on Saturday.
Jean David discovered earlier this month that his backpack was stolen from his car in the southern city of Toulouse, which contains bank cards and other documents, the lawyer said. Jean-David asks the bank to block the card and finds out that it is already being used in a local store.
At the store, the vendor told him that two homeless men used one of his cards to buy a winning scratch lottery ticket.
“They were totally happy enough to leave like crazy people, forgetting their cigarettes and belongings,” Devyson said.
Jean David filed a police complaint about the theft, but if the burglar moves forward to share the money, he is ready to withdraw it, Devyson said.
“Without them, no one would have won,” Jean David told public broadcaster France-2.
Prosecutors may attempt to seize the prize in light of the profits they have acquired illegally, the lawyer said.
The lawyers began a nationwide appeal on Thursday, asking the assailant to contact his office to make a deal.
“You’re not at risk… we’ll share it with you,” he said. “And you can change your life.”
He warned that tickets will eventually expire.
“Time works against us,” he said.
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