A man in France whose stolen credit card was used to buy a winning lottery ticket has made an unexpected offer: he wants to split the €500,000 ($525,000) jackpot with the thieves, CNN reported.
Jean-David Estele’s car was broken into in Toulouse on 3 February, and the criminals used his credit card to make purchases at a bar that same day, according to his lawyer, Pierre Debuisson. Among those purchases was a lottery ticket that turned out to be a big winner.
“It’s a miracle for both the thieves and my client,” Debuisson told CNN, explaining that Estele, rather than seeking justice, hopes to share the windfall with the two individuals who stole his card. The lawyer believes the culprits are homeless and have since disappeared.
Despite fingerprints being recovered at the scene, police have not yet been able to identify the pair. “Without my client’s credit card it would not have been possible to buy the ticket, but without the thieves’ behaviour, the ticket wouldn’t have been bought either,” Debuisson noted.
Estele has no intention of pressing charges and is instead urging the thieves to come forward. “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,” Debuisson said, describing the search as “proving difficult.”
Estele and his wife plan to use their half of the winnings to build a new home. Meanwhile, the French lottery operator, Française des Jeux (FDJ), confirmed no claim for the prize had been submitted yet, and police declined to comment on the case.
“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 remarked, adding that the story has gained attention worldwide.
