What is this world coming to if you can’t trust a shop worker to tell you the truth about your lottery ticket? A 78-year-old British woman brought her EuroMillions ticket to the shop where she had purchased it, and asked the employee to scan it for her to find out if she’d won big. She had, but instead of giving her the good news, cops say he straight up lied and said it was a dud.

In reality, the lottery terminal alerted the employee that he should contact the ticket’s owner, as it was worth £1 million. When she heard it was a dud, she and her husband told the man to just throw it out for her. He pocketed it in an attempt to claim the winnings.

He ended up losing out on a lot more than getting some free money, however: As he attempted to cash it in, lottery officials became suspicious when he couldn’t answer questions about the winning ticket. The man’s visa just so happened to be expired and he’ll be deported to Pakistan as a result of the scheme. He pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud by false representation committed, reports Sky News and was convicted to 30 months in prison.

Lottery officials tracked down the real winners by using video footage from the store, as well as the husband’s supermarket loyalty card. They’re pleased as punch to find out they’re new millionaires.

They issued a statement on the case, reading: “We can now look forward to enjoying our lottery win and spending some time with our family and friends. We understand the defendant has written a letter to us and we look forward to reading this.”

Shop Worker Jailed For Claiming £1m Jackpot [Sky News]

 

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