Two men have been jailed this week after they had attempted to cash in a £4m scratch card winning they had bought from a stolen debit card.
According to BBC News, Jon Watson, of Nutall Avenue, Little Lever and Mark Goodram, of no fixed abode, went to beg in London in 2019, eventually buying the winning ticket at a Waitrose store on Clapham Common.
The two fraudsters were only caught when they admitted that neither of them had a bank account for the winnings to go to, despite having paid for the ticket with a debit card.
Attending a trial at Bolton Crown Court, the two men, who were both on licence at the time, both admitted guilt to fraud and were sentenced to 18 months imprisonment each.
The court heard that Goodram memorised the card number and expiry date of the stolen card to buy £90 of shopping at a Londis store and £71 of goods, including five scratch cards, at a Waitrose store on Clapham Common.
Whilst one of the scratch cards produced a £10 win, one other won the full jackpot, worth £4m.
However, when he was told by the National Lottery helpline that the winnings would be paid by bank transfer, he notified them that he did not have a bank account. With the ticket paid for by debit card, suspicions were raised.
Sarah Johnston, in charge of sentencing, told the pair: “You must have thought all of your Christmases had come at once,” she said.
“Despite knowing you had fraudulently acquired that prize money, you tried to claim it. I have no doubt that both of you will continue to offend in dishonest ways in the future.”