Lottery Winning Scratchcard Ticket Brought With Stolen Card
Image source: Susanne Nilsson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jailed for Buying Winning Scratchcard With Stolen Bank Card
Two bone-headed idiots were up for sentencing at Bolton Crown Court in the UK. It was for trying to claim a lottery winning scratchcard ticket worth £4 million. Unfortunately, this had been purchased with a stolen bank card. They were each found guilty of fraud. These two amateur criminals were both natives of Bolton. John Watson, age 34 and Mark Goodram, age 38. Both admitted to making use of a stranger’s debit card details in order to buy the scratch card from a Waitrose store in the southwest of London. Initially, both men denied three counts of fraud. But then changed their plea to guilty as their case began at Bolton Crown Court. They both were on the receiving end of 19 and 18 months in prison respectively from the judge, Sarah Johnson.
But They Did Have The lottery Winning Scratchcard Ticket!
On April the 22nd 2019, both men decided that they would travel to London in order to go begging. Rather than go to the usual haunts in Manchester or Bolton, they decided that there would be more rich pickings to be had in the capital city down south. According to The Bolton News, Goodram was able to gain the details of a stranger’s debit card information. He then wrote this down in his hand. Armed with these details they were first able to buy goods worth £90.56 at an off-licence store in South London. Later on, they headed to a Waitrose store, where they bought more goods to the value of £71. It was in Waitrose that they decided to try their luck. Without any jackpot winning strategies, they bought five £4 million Red Game Lottery scratch cards. In retrospect, this was the best lottery to play for them.
With the lottery winning scratchcard ticket in their pocket, they then went on a bender in the capital city. Once again using the debit card details. And then, out of the blue, they were struct with probably the most unbelievable piece of luck. They discovered that they had bought a winning ticket to the lottery. The odds given of winning this prize are around 1 and 4 million. Not one’s to rush, even though they hadn’t actually claimed the prize, they decided to really celebrate. And so went on an even bigger binge around London. Not being the brightest lights on the Christmas tree, they also decided to document their antics. They did this by foolishly posting photos across their social media. Showing the world how to win the jackpot and how to celebrate afterwards. Unfortunately for them, all good things have to come to an end.
How Not To Claim A Stolen Lottery Winning Scratchcard Ticket
According to the latest lottery news, in order to claim the £4 million jackpot, they needed to call the UK National Lottery line. You can imagine their excitement when the operator then confirmed that the scratch card they held in sweaty their hand was actually the winning number. Though not the UK’s largest win by far, it was still a life-altering amount. Mark Goodram was initially wary to hear that he would receive the prize money by a bank transfer. Unfortunately at this point, Goodram explained that he didn’t actually have a bank account. As you can imagine, this was to raise suspicions as the ticket purchase was via a debit card from a legitimate bank account. Just not theirs!
The UK National Lottery operator, Camelot, sent an investigator to interview Goodram and they asked for the debit card used to purchase the lottery winning scratchcard ticket. Obviously, not having any sort of plan in mind, Goodram simply said that the card belonged to a friend called “John.” He explained that John owed him money. Unfortunately, the story instantly fell apart when Goodram was unable to confirm either John’s surname or his address. Now with no possibility of receiving their winnings, they decided to take another route to try and earn some money. They contacted the Sun Newspaper and sold their story.
Why Not Admit Their Crime In A National Newspaper?
Of course, having now admitted to a crime in a national newspaper, it’s no surprise that the Sun handed Camelot all the information they had about these two idiots. And Camelot in turn immediately handed over the investigation to the police. Quite how they manage to find a lawyer, we’ll never know. But this pair of clowns hired a celebrity lawyer called Henry Hendon to try and force Camelot to release the money to them. It’s incredible that they still thought they had any chance of getting their hands on these winnings. Whatever they were, even holding a technically stolen lottery winning scratchcard ticket, you have to admit that they were truly optimistic! if you’re of an optimistic turn of mind, then head over to theLotter to try your lottery winning chances. Remember that someone has to win!
Living It Large With Prospective Winnings
According to the story that they sold to the Sun Newspaper, they were celebrating their win with champagne and cocktails on a binge that lasted 4 days. Like real winners! As Goodram told the tabloid, “I’m off to see the Queen. This is brilliant. I deserved a bit of a break. We’re made for life.” His crony-in-crime said: “I can’t wait to spend this lot. I’m going to buy luxury properties and look after myself.” A slightly different approach than that of the UK’s largest winner, ColinWeir.
Nevertheless, it was left to the judge to have the final say. “I still can’t understand on what planet, frankly, the defendants thought they were going to hoodwink a jury,” commented the judge. She also pointed out that one should give some thought to the customer who might have lawfully purchased the winning scratch card and therefore missed out. “For that unidentifiable individual, fate has twisted at the last minute and deprived them of a life-changing sum of money.” Here at Jackpotfinder, we suggest that you try your lottery luck at theLotter. And please remember to only use your own credit or debit card!
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