The second section of the Provincial Court of Valencia sentenced a couple, owners of a bar located in the town of Pedralba, to three years in prison for the crime of fraud and to compensate them with more than eleven million euros to a customer who was convinced to share the prize she had won in the National Lottery Father’s Day draw after being assured there was no way of knowing what her tenth of the prizes was three that they kept in the store.
THE sentence to which ABC had exclusive access describes the strategy “concocted” by the two convicts “with the intention of obtaining a financial advantage” with the money from the tenth of the number 39,813allocated with 15 million euros to the fraction and the series. In addition to this ticket, there were two other winners of 130,000 euros in the series, so they persuaded the winners to divide the sum of each of them into four parts.
The judge ruled that of the 11.15 million euros in compensation, 7.4 go to the plaintiff and 1.8 to each of her two children. As specified in the resolution, these sums will also be owed “jointly and severally” with the direct civilian responsible, as “participants by lucrative title”, the rest of the beneficiaries of the distribution of the prize. Concretely, among six people who did not commit the crime but who benefited from it without knowing it, they will pay 9.25 million.
According to the story reflected in the sentence, the plaintiff played the lottery individually every week with the same number, without the participation of third parties, except for her children, whom she intended to share with the prizes that ‘she could win. I bought the 10,123 and the 12,396 plus a random extra. This time he chose 39,813a number that the hostess also acquired every week with a friend and, at the same time, another customer, who in both cases entrusted the tickets to the manager so that she could keep them in different stores kept at the bar.
It was on March 12 that the plaintiff and resident of the town of Pedralba purchased the tenth in the convict bar, currently closed and for sale. However, knowing that he would not be able to make it to town the following week, he gave it to the owner of the hotel for safekeeping, an action she regularly carried out with the most regular customers. In this way, the accused was left in custody of the file containing the tenths, both that of the woman concerned and the other two.
The draw took place on March 18, 2017on the occasion of the celebration of Father’s Day by the National Lottery. Knowing that the tenth she owned corresponded to the third fraction, the fifth series had been allocated, “with the intention of obtaining a financial advantage and in carrying out a preconceived plan with her husband“, he contacted the real winner to inform her that the ticket had been awarded and asked her to come on site, again according to the account of the magistrate’s decision.
A few hours later he arrived at the bar and at that point the owners closed it by putting a table leg in the door so no one could enter. It was then that they showed him the three tenth prizes which “had intentionally grouped and, “even though they knew the winner was hers,” they told her that “they couldn’t know who owned the special prize” and “that if she wanted it back, she would have to share the prize with the three other people. who played the said prize.” number”, always according to the judgment.
In response to these statements, in accordance with the literal wording of the above-mentioned sentence, the victim – “nervous about the news and unaware of any other information” – agreed and, once the goal was achieved, the managers from the bar contacted the Two other people to whom the accused herself referred to had received the prize, who were also unaware of other information and to whom she informed separately that “everyone had agreed to distribute the prize of equally.”
“Machination” of the plan
Thus, following the “machination” perpetrated on March 20, 2017, “in a hasty manner” as detailed in the sentence, the accused bearing three-tenths, as well as the four winners and members of their immediate family, including children, They went to a notary located in the town of Lliria to formalize the minutes of the demonstrations, in which the distribution of the prize was recorded, “with the agreement of the complainant”, because “they had made her believe that we did not know which tenth was the winner of the series and the fraction.
Image of the premises where the condemned bar in Pedralba was located
Following this plan drawn up by the convicts, the victim and her children suffered harm “a significant financial loss”since the price would correspond to them in full even though they would have only received a quarter of the said amount, or 3.7 million euros, according to the judgment. Thus, in light of all the above, the magistrate punished the owners of the bar as criminally responsible as perpetrators of the crime of fraud under articles 248, 249 and 250.1.5 of the Penal Code, to which three-year prison sentence and special prohibition for the exercise of the right to passive suffrage.
Against this resolution, it is possible to file call before the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community, to be presented before the Second Section of the Provincial Court of Valencia within ten days from its notification, dated Monday October 28. The injured parties filed a complaint on November 28, 2017, marking the start of a procedure which lasted six years and almost six months and which they consider to be “particularly disproportionate” compared to the “low complexity” of the case .
