I won £1million lotto jackpot but shopkeeper told me my ticket was worth NOTHING… I took my revenge & got the lot
AN ELDERLY couple won a £1million lotto jackpot - but were left stunned when their local shopkeeper told them no.
But Maureen and Fred Holt, from Greater Manchester, took their revenge on the worker and soon got their winnings in full.
The man, ironically dubbed Lucky, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after he tried to take the Holt's winnings for himself.
Lucky allegedly asked them if they wanted their ticket back, but, believing it was worthless, they told him to bin it.
Little did the Holts know that when Lucky scanned the ticket, a message prompted him to contact Camelot.
Purposefully misleading the elderly couple, he told them they hadn't won anything and kept the potentially life-changing ticket for himself.
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A court heard that he later attempted to claim the money by calling Camelot - although this quickly backfired when he couldn't provide any information about the ticket.
Camelot, suspicious of Lucky's actions, eventually scrutinised CCTV footage from the Best One shop, and found that the ticket hadn't been purchased from there at all.
They found that the winning ticket had actually been bought from the Tesco Extra in Oldham, where Mrs Holt had used her Clubcard.
Camelot were then able to utilise the Clubcard information to track down the rightful owners.
The couple have since been reunited with their £1 million windfall, and said that they intend on spending their money on their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A spokesperson for Camelot said that it is crucial that individuals verify potential lottery wins before presenting their tickets at shops.
The spokesperson did add that all claimants must undergo rigorous security procedures to authenticate the ticket and confirm their status as the rightful owner.
These measures are in place to maintain the reliability and security of the lottery claiming process.
He also said: “The success of the National Lottery is built on player trust and the sentence handed down to Mr Nizzar provides clear evidence that Camelot will not allow that trust to be undermined in any way.”
At the time, court recorder Philip Cattan said: “This goes to the heart of public confidence in that the National Lottery benefits good causes. You acted in breach of trust – her's and the shop which employed you.”
Detective Constable Kate Carnally, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “To cheat an elderly woman and try to claim the money for himself was both callous and underhand.”
