The thieves have not claimed the money yet. In a bizarre twist of fate, a half-million-euro lottery win has become a cat-and-mouse game between a robbery victim and the thieves who unknowingly purchased the winning ticket with his stolen bank card. The victim, identified as Jean-David E, is now offering to split the winnings if the thieves return his wallet.
![[The headquarters of the Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), the operator of France's national lottery games is pictured in Boulogne-Billancourt]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/22/14/France-Stolen_Lottery_Ticket_31413.jpg)
The incident began with a stolen bank card and escalated into a lottery jackpot worth €500,000 (£414,000). The thieves, having used the stolen card to purchase the ticket, are now among France’s most wanted fugitives. Ironically, their illicit purchase has landed them a potential fortune, but the risk of arrest now overshadows their unexpected windfall.
As of Saturday, La Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), the state lottery operator, confirmed that the winning ticket remains unclaimed. This leaves the substantial prize hanging in the balance, waiting for the elusive thieves to surface. Meanwhile, Jean-David E, the unwitting benefactor of their crime, has made a public plea. He’s not seeking retribution, but rather a simple exchange: the return of his wallet in exchange for half of the lottery winnings.
“It’s an incredible story, but it’s all true,” Jean-David’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson, told the Associated Press. Jean-David discovered earlier this month that his backpack had been stolen from his car in the southern city of Toulouse, including bank cards and other documents, the lawyer said.
Jean-David asked his bank to block the card, and learned it had already been used in a local shop. At the shop, a vendor told him two apparently homeless men had used one of his cards to buy the winning scratch card. “They were so totally happy that they forgot their cigarettes and their belongings and walked out like crazy people,” Mr Debuisson said.
Jean-David filed a police complaint about the theft, but is ready to withdraw it if the thieves come forward so that they can share the money, Mr Debuisson said. “Without them, no one would have won,” Jean-David said on public broadcaster France-2.
Prosecutors may try to seize the winnings, considering them illegally obtained gains, the lawyer said. The lawyer launched a national appeal asking the perpetrators to contact his office to make a deal. “You risk nothing... we will share with you,” he said. “And you would be able to change your lives.”.
