One of the French appealed to two thieves who used the stolen credit card to purchase a scratch card that won the Grand Prix, and promised to divide 500,000 euros (413,664 pounds) with them.
He presented himself as Jean David E, the man told RTL that because the authorities had seized the money, as he looked forward to concluding a deal with thieves.
“I will not win, but without them, I did not buy this ticket. I want to make them share the gains,” said one of the residents of Toulouse.
No one has yet to advance the winning ticket, which was banned by Française des jeux (FDJ), the National Lottery Operator in France, according to the David committees.
Jean David discovered that his bag, which contains his wallet, was stolen from his parked car in central Toulouse on February 3.
After calling his bank to prevent his credit card, he discovered that 52.50 euros (43.47 pounds) had been spent through a batch that does not come into contact with TABAC Des Themes, a nearby angle store. Jean David went to the store to see if the employees saw anything suspicious or if any of his property was abandoned in the store.
“My client spoke to the treasurer and discovered that two men seemed homeless used his credit card to buy cigarettes and many scratch cards,” Pierre Depoison told the BBC.
The two men told the treasurer that they won the winning award of the Grand Prix of 500,000 euros for a card and that they were planning to go to FDJ to demand their prize.
The treasurer found that the behavior of the two men was suspected because they were unable to enter the number of the pin for one of the cards who tried to perform the purchase, according to David’s committees.
After talking to the treasurer, Jean David called the local police, who in turn continued with FDJ to alert the gaming company.
The police are now likely to take over the gains, and if the thieves approach the FDJ themselves, they will be arrested, according to David’s committees.
The winners of the scratch cards have 30 days from the date of purchase to demand their stones, and for the DVD committees and its unlikely collaborators, the deadline is approaching quickly.
His lawyer Debuisson suggested the amnesty: “My client was very happy to steal his credit card in these circumstances, and therefore he does not look forward to prosecution. This is also a miracle opportunity for these two men to build a new life for themselves.”
“What they did not call a lawyer, the ticket is not usable. So why not settle in a friendly manner and do fifty?”
He added: “For this amount of money, I am ready to reach an agreement,” explaining that he will use his share of gains – 250,000 euros (206,988 pounds) – to help pay his mortgage.
FDJ and Toulouse Police are approached to comment.
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