Would You Cash In Found Lotto Ticket?

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Some people in the UK answered YES and guess what... they got into trouble. Here is a pretty interesting / funny story reported by Sky News.

A hard-up couple found a winning Lottery ticket and used the £30,000 jackpot to pay off their debts - only to land themselves in court.

Amanda Stacey, 34, spotted the ticket on the floor of her local Co-Op store in Swindon, Wiltshire, and took it home to discover it held the winning numbers for that night.

She and husband Michael, 43, cashed in the windfall and spend half of it clearing their debts, as well as buying new carpets, and treats for their children, according to The Sun.

Meanwhile, regular player Dorothy McDonagh, 61, proved to lottery firm Camelot that the Daily Play ticket was hers. Mrs Stacey told police she did not realise she was committing a crime and put the find down to luck. But officers froze the remaining £15,000 and charged the couple. The pair admitted charges of making a false representation, and Amanda Stacey also admitted theft. They were each given 11-month suspended jail sentences after a judge at Swindon Crown Court said they had acted out of financial need, not greed. Rob Ross, defending, told the court: "It is important for the public to know that 'Finders keepers, losers weepers' is not true and never was true."

A court hearing in July will decide if Ms McDonagh will get the £15,000 that remains. The only way she can recover the other half is by launching a private action - after Camelot refused to pay out a second time. Neither Ms McDonagh nor the Staceys were available for comment when contacted by Sky News Online. A Camelot spokesman said: "The dispute is now between the two parties involved. "We are reminding players to keep their tickets safe and fill out their names and addresses on the back. That way there can be no dispute. "We have a clear lost and found policy so if a member of the public finds the ticket they should send it to our prize payout department, setting out in writing the circumstances of the find and the steps they took (if any) to reunite the ticket with its rightful owner. "If no corresponding prize claim or lost ticket notice has been received, the prize may be paid to the finder at Camelot's discretion after the expiry of the 180-day claim deadline."

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