Have you ever wondered whether that crumpled lottery ticket you see on the street might just be a winner? What would happen if you took it to a lottery office and it turned out to be worth a fortune?
We look at some real-life stories of people who have done just that. The results were not always positive, but some people really have managed to turn trash into treasure. Read on to see what happened when they tried to claim lottery wins without buying a ticket and discover how you can legally claim a cash bonanza from somebody else’s purchase.
What would you do if you found a pound coin on the street? How about a £50 note, or £100? Well, what about if you picked up a discarded lottery ticket which turned out to be worth a fortune? Not everybody can resist that much temptation…
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Amanda and Michael Stacey believed that the old adage ‘finders keepers, losers weepers’ would hold true when they found a winning lottery ticket. While doing her weekly supermarket shop in Swindon, Amanda saw a lottery ticket on the floor and picked it up on the off-chance that it would prove to be a lucky one. Little did she know that her spur of the moment act would end up with her appearing in court and with her name splashed all over the papers.
Upon checking the ticket, the Stacey’s discovered that it was worth £30,000, and they promptly set about spending their unexpected windfall. However, the original purchaser – Dorothy McDonagh – was able to prove that she had bought the ticket in question. By the time the matter went to court Amanda and Michael had already spent £15,000 of the bounty. They pleaded guilty to theft and fraud and were ordered to pay out the remaining £15,000 to Ms McDonagh. As the lottery refused to pay out a further amount, both parties were left feeling hard done by: the couple had a criminal conviction to their name while Ms McDonagh never got half of what she felt was due to her.
Seems that ‘finders keepers’ rule doesn’t always work in the court of law.
