A French man whose stolen credit card was used to buy a winning lottery ticket has offered to split the jackpot with the two thieves.
The criminals broke into Jean-Davide Estele’s car in the city of Toulouse on 3 February and used his credit card to buy a few items at a bar that same day, Estele’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson told CNN on Tuesday.
Among them was a lottery ticket that turned out to be a winner worth €500,000 (about US$525,000).
‘It’s a miracle for both the thieves and my client’, said Debuisson, who said that Estele is offering to split the prize money with the thieves, who appear to be homeless and have since disappeared.
French police have not been able to identify the pair, despite finding fingerprints as part of their investigation, Debuisson said, adding that he is appealing to the thieves to come forward.
Debuisson said: ‘Without my client’s credit card it would not have been possible to buy the ticket, but without the thieves’ behavior, the ticket wouldn’t have been bought either.
‘I really hope the thieves contact my office to strike a deal that benefits both them and my client, who, despite the crime, is extremely happy to have had his credit card stolen. It’s truly unbelievable’, he added.
Estele does not want to press charges and Debuisson added that the thieves ‘have nothing to fear from us.
‘We don’t know much about the thieves beyond the fact that they are homeless. We have some video footage, but the quality is poor’. He further said that locating the pair is ‘proving difficult’.
Estele and his wife hope to build a new house with their half of the money, Debuisson said.
He added: ‘It must be the first time that a guy who gets his credit card stolen is extremely happy to be the victim of such a crime.
Debuisson added: ‘I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before. I never imagined this case would gain so much attention worldwide.
‘While it might not be the craziest case I’ve handled, it’s certainly the funniest’.
The story has been picked up by media outlets across the world — including China, Russia and India.
‘I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before. I never imagined this case would gain so much attention worldwide’, said Debuisson.
France’s national lottery operator, Française des Jeux said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday that it was not in a position to confirm any details of the case as “no request for the payment has been made’.
Usually, winning tickets have to be claimed within 30 days of the end of the sales period.
Toulouse Police declined to comment when contacted by CNN.
Credit: CNN
