Jean-David was shocked when he returned to his vehicle in central Toulouse to find that the backpack containing his credit card had been pinched – and after some investigaton found that two homeless men had used it to purchase a winning €500,000 scratchcard
A man whose bank account was plundered by thieves has promised to split the £400,000 jackpot he won after they used his credit card to buy the lucky scratch card.
The man, who identified himself as Jean-David E, told French radio station RTL that without striking a deal with the criminals, authorities would be forced to seize the €500,000 (£413,664) prize money.
“Without me, they would not have won, but without them, I would not have bought this ticket. I want to offer them to share the winnings,” the man, who lives in Toulouse, said. France’s national lottery operator has blocked the winning ticket for the timebeing. No one has yet come forward, Jean-David said.
On February 3, he returned to his car parked in central Toulouse to find that his backpack – which contained his wallet – had been pinched. He contacted the bank to block his card, but the thieves had already made a £43.47 purchase via contactless at a corner shop nearby.
On arriving at the shop, he asked staff if any of his belongings were there, and if they’d noticed any suspicious behaviour in the past few hours.
Speaking to the BBC, Jean-Davide’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson, said: “My client spoke to the cashier and discovered that two men who appeared to be homeless used his credit card to purchase cigarettes and several scratch cards.”
After scratching off the card, they discovered they’d won half a million Euros, and that they planned to cash in. However, the shopkeeper said he suspected something was up as they didn’t know the PIN for one of the cards.
Jean-David contacted local law enforcement and they reached out to the national operator. The two men will likely be arrested if they try to collect the winnings themselves. However, if Jean-David went to scoop the prize, it would be handed over, he said. However, they don’t have much time left as scratch card winners have just 30 days to claim their prize.
His lawyer Mr Debuisson proposed an amnesty: “My client was very happy to have his credit card stolen in these circumstances and so is not looking to prosecute. This is also a miraculous opportunity for these two men to build a new life for themselves.”
“Unless they contact my lawyer, the ticket is unusable. So why not settle amicably and do fifty-fifty?,” Jean-David, 40, told RTL.
“For that amount of money, I’m ready to come to an agreement”, he added. Should the plot be successful, the 40-year-old said he’d use his share to pay off his mortgage.