A Man Offers to Split a Winning Lotto Ticket… with the Thieves Who Bought It with His Stolen Credit Card

This might be the ONLY situation where you would reward someone for STEALING from you.

Earlier this month, thieves stole a backpack from a man in France, and his wallet was inside.  Then they went to a corner store, and used his credit card to buy cigarettes and lottery scratch-off tickets.

But that’s where things get interesting.

The thieves won a HUGE jackpot on one of the scratchers, which was worth more than 500,000 American dollars.  The cashier says they boasted about the win, and were so excited, they left without their smokes.

No one has come forward with the winning ticket yet, which makes sense because it was bought with a stolen card . . . and the thieves would essentially be turning themselves in if they tried to claim the prize.

So the owner of the backpack went to the press, and is offering them a deal:

He’s offering to SPLIT the winnings with them . . . if they give him back all his stuff.  He says he’d decline to press charges, and they’d get the other half of the jackpot.  So this is a SWEET deal for them.

The guy has a simple explanation:  “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.”

But they’re on the clock.  People only have 30 days from the date of purchase to claim their winnings.

He is working with a lawyer, who tells the thieves they, quote, “risk nothing” by coming forward.  But technically, it’s unclear if they’d be able to take their share, and just ride off into the sunset.

Even if the guy doesn’t press charges, prosecutors or the lottery might argue that the ticket should be voided.  And there’s something wrong about giving $250K to people who stole your bag and spent your money.

(CTV News / BBC)