American Drena Harris, who lives in Indiana, was so thrilled to have won $500 (more than R$2,470) in a scratch card game, that she took a picture of the winning card and posted it on her personal Facebook page, to share the joy. with friends. The surprise came when she went to collect the prize and discovered that someone else had already received the money instead.
One of his followers on social media printed a picture of the winning ticket, went to a lottery reporter without even having the original ticket, and convinced the employee to pay him the $500. To do this, in addition to relying on luck, he could have used a good argument.
All players of Hoosier Lotteries, the scratch-card brand purchased by Drena, know that prizes up to $600 can be redeemed at any associated retailer (that sells games). Above this amount, withdrawals are made only at banks or payment offices.
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But, shortly before Drena posted a photo of his winning ticket, the case of another state resident, Paul Marshall, became famous: He bought a Powerball ticket, another Hoosier lottery game, took some time to check the result and, when he went to check, realized he was entitled to… He will receive a prize of 50 thousand dollars (approximately 250 thousand Brazilian reals).
Almost in disbelief, he went to the store where he bought the game, the clerk checked the corresponding numbers on the machine, printed out a sheet of paper containing all the instructions for drawing the prize at the checkout counter and then tore up the ticket to avoid it. Lost.
When Marshall arrived at the location and provided instructions, employees told him he needed to present the original coupon to receive a refund. He explained the whole story, but the issue was brought to the top management of the company. Authorities were able to speak to the attendant who tore up the paper and also found images from the store’s security cameras, which showed this event.
The Hoosier Lottery Commission discussed the situation at its meeting, and unanimously decided to approve the $50,000 payout.
“It was a happy event that we were able to reconstruct what happened,” said Chuck Taylor, the lottery’s director of legal affairs.
This case may have influenced the worker’s decision to pay someone else’s Drina premium.
The lottery company committee assessed the situation, but refused to pay another $500. “It’s a decision we don’t like, but we can’t pay for something twice,” Taylor explained to local media.
Then Drina went to court. While she was waiting for her hearing with the judge, the store responsible for paying the stranger closed its activities, ending any kind of evidence that could be analyzed, and thus, the case had to be brought to an end.
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