A 33-year-old Canadian woman hit it big in the lottery, but ended up on the losing end when the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary charged her with theft of a credit card used to purchase the winning ticket.
The woman was arrested when she tried to claim the winnings at Atlantic Lottery's office in St. John's. She now faces two counts of possessing a stolen credit card and five counts of fraud.
A store owner in Paradise confirmed the scratch ticket was purchased at his shop, but declined an interview. He confirmed the prize was in the range of $50,000.
It all started last Wednesday, when police were called by a man who said his wallet was stolen.
His credit cards were used to make several purchases at stores in Paradise, including a lottery ticket that police said won "a large amount of money."
Police say the woman did not receive the money. She was charged Thursday and released to appear in court.
As that investigation was happening, the RNC stopped the vehicle the woman had been a passenger in. A woman, 46, who was behind the wheel was ticketed for driving with a suspended licence and without insurance.
Police have impounded the vehicle.
It's not clear what will happen with the proceeds of the lottery win.
The proceeds needs to go the the rightful owner of the card and say ‘thank you’ thief.
The man who had he's credit card stolen should get the $50K. Why you ask? For pain, suffering & undue stress. That's why!
* After all, it was his credit card that was used, and the person or machine " accepted " that form of payment. He should get what his card paid for.
There was a similar case in Oregon. The woman was caught. The winnings went to the Police. That is the law there. It acts like an incentive for the police to continue their good work.
This is also a Lottery Post story. Oct. 28, 2005, Christina Goodenow stole from a deceased relative. She had won $1,000,000.00
Just another reason to leave the liberal utopia of Oregon.
Sorry that happened to this gentleman, but as a second thought, EnReval has a good point; if it turns out that way, it was really a blessing in disguise.
It’s obvious the money should go to the owner of the credit card but they will more likely not give it to him on a technicality just so they won’t have to pay...but let’s hope they do,he deserves the money behind this
You can buy a lottery ticket with a credit card there? What a shame.
Or at a minimum at least cover the expenses of the charges that happened while she was in possession of the card. Maybe they could spilt the proceeds 50/50. 25,000 for Law Enforcement to help fund programs within the department and 25,000 for the victim. It's a win win situation. But my guess the money will go back to the lottery corporation.
What normally happens with a fraudulent credit card charge is that you get a credit and the charges are removed. I doubt the owner of the card will get a dime of the lottery win since the underlying charge was fraudulent.
just another reason why crime does not pay
If the ticket had been bought with cash that was stolen there might be a reasonable argument that the ticket rightfully belongs to the person who rightfully owned the money. Since it was bought using a stolen credit card there's probably only one sensible choice for who is entitled to the winnings, assuming the lottery pays the prize. When a credit card is used fraudulently it's the credit card company that pays the merchant, not the card holder or the person who "bought" the merchandise. Assuming the credit card company paid for the ticket then they should be considered the the owner of the ticket.
Of course the lottery may claim that the ticket was effectively stolen and therefore invalid, but the argument that the ticket was stolen isn't a very good one. An argument that the cops should have any claim on the money is probably BS for the same reason. They may be able to claim stolen property when the rightful owner can't be located, but if the merchant was paid by the credit card company the ticket was paid for and isn't stolen.
I'm surprised that Canadians can use credit cards to purchase lottery tickets. In Australia, you can't.
However, it is great that she was caught. I hope the card owner gets the lottrrl prize.
There is a story of a Canadian woman who lost her winning ticket worth $50 million CAD. She did not know about this. The investigators tracked her down using her credit card information. She had used her card to buy the ticket plus other items and she was on the security camera. She got her money after being interviewed and answering questions.
Where can l read of this Canadian woman losing a $50million ticket music? I promise not to get upset, l can handle the truth.
It also says on the back of any lottery ticket. "This ticket is a bearer instrument. Anyone possessing a winning ticket may claim a prize.
The credit card co. wouldn't get it because they don't possess it. They only provided the funds to purchase it. Kind of like, if you borrowed $20 from someone to put gas in your car, would that person own the gas? Would they siphon your tank if you didn't pay them back? Probably not, but they wouldn't loan you anything the next time you asked.
Rightly or not, the person (thief) who possesses it owns it. At least going by what it says on the ticket. Now karma being what it is, they might have to spend all the money on legal fees, and not end up with anything. lol
That's some heady explaining you got going there G. All l know is that the $50K cannot disappear in the ether. Someone will end up with that money.
Try Google and YouTube. Lottery Post has it at, Lottery Post.com/news/269314
Lottery tracks down $50 million winner who lost ticket
She never found the ticket. They paid her based on the surveillance tape and credit card info.
In N.C. you can only purchase lottery using a card as debit not credit so the woman would have had to know the pin number in order to use the card.
Thanks Tmm. I did not recall this piece at all. The good thing about it was reading " Ridge's " responses.
I'm not a lawyer, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.
Yea, thats true red.
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I'm happy N.C. my state (after i left cali many years ago)
can utilize a debit visa/mastercard to play lottery games!
i do not ... prefer cash but i am loving the fact they allow it here, for
those who prefer that. I usually use good ole' cash.
I played front pair 50 cents in Illinois lottery won only 25.00 dollars waste of money
"Rightly or not, the person (thief) who possesses it owns it. "
I've seen a lot of stupid stuff here, but that's one of the stupidest things I've seen.
We go over this regularly. A bearer instrument is simply something that isn't registered to the owner, as opposed to registered instruments like stocks. Cash is a bearer instrument, but if you drop $100 while getting money out of your wallet at a store and I pick it up I'm guessing you'll think it's still your money. Proving who owns a bearer instrument can sometimes be difficult, but only an idiot thinks that you gain lawful ownership of anything simply by stealing it.
Wow, now that was a burst of clarity. Another way of putting it would be, if you stole my vehicle out of my driveway, it does not belong to you.
..or does it?
A thought has crossed my mind concerning theft and conspiracy to commit theft. This has to do with a major lottery winner and those who want some of it. We have heard the comments, "You did not earn it so what's yours is mine." "That could pay off a lot of debt". Anyone who conspires to steal my winnings is breaking the law. Conspiracy is illegal and can be prosecuted.
In Louisiana if you make a purchase at a gas station counter, you can use your debit card tied to a bank account to pay for the purchase, then you're allowed to purchase at the same time up to $40.00 in lottery tickets if you tell the cashier you also want to buy lottery tickets with the purchase. Or, use the cash back option up to $100.00 when you're asked by the terminal if you want cash back.
The most realistic outcome is that the lottery winnings will go back to the lottery, because it wasn't legally won. The woman who's credit cards were stolen had no intentions of buying that ticket. The only thing she is entitled to is to be made whole by either seeking prosecution or suing the the thief who stole her credit cards.
lol, Karma
Exactly. I'm surprised there's any question about it. Winnings from illegally obtained tickets aren't paid out to anyone; the lottery adds it to the uclaimed prize fund, or what have you, and doesn't give it a second thought.
Sure are a lot of wacky suggestions here. Maybe the lottery should pick a random address and leave 25,000 toonies at the front door.