Thread: England - Lottery fraudster to pay £15,000

Lottery fraudster to pay £15,000

Mrs Stacey said she did not realise she had commited a crime

A Swindon woman whose winning lottery ticket was found and cashed in by someone else has been told she will be paid more than half the original prize.

Dorothy McDonagh, 61, dropped the ticket on the floor of her local Co-op.

Michael and Amanda Stacey, 34, who spent half the money, were later given 11-month suspended sentences for fraud.

A judge at Swindon Crown Court ordered Michael Stacey to pay Dorothy McDonagh £15,111 - the £111 being interest on the payment.

Cleared debts

The case came to light after Mrs McDonagh was able to prove to lottery firm Camelot that she had bought the winning ticket because she had kept the receipt.

However, by this time the couple who found the ticket had claimed the prize and spent about £15,000 clearing their debts.

Police froze the remaining £15,000 and brought charges against the couple.


A spokesman for Camelot said: "We have a clear lost-and-found policy.

"If a member of the public finds the ticket they should send it to our prize payout department, setting out in writing the circumstances of the find and the steps they took [if any] to reunite the ticket with its rightful owner.

"If no corresponding prize claim or lost ticket notice has been received, the prize may be paid to the finder at Camelot's discretion after the expiry of the 180-day claim deadline."

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Wiltshire | Lottery fraudster to pay £15,000


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