Lottery fraud : Lucky 7 - the fifth estate
1,328,153
Published 2016-09-14
As the fifth estate investigation revealed, one particular insider lottery jackpot looked especially fishy. It was a family that claimed a huge $12.5 million jackpot in 2004 with a ticket issued in their store. After police charged three members of the family with fraud and money laundering, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) was swamped with calls from people claiming to be the rightful owners of that winning ticket.
It would take a dying woman's intuition and the OLG seven years to find the true winners of that lottery jackpot. How it happened is a true-life drama full of strange twists, false claims, counter-claims, court battles and a nifty new computer program that can meticulously track the habits of people who play the lottery game. OLG investigators reveal to the fifth estate how they found them, and the lucky seven ordinary guys who suddenly struck it rich speak publicly for the first time since their win.
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About the fifth estate : For four decades the fifth estate has been Canada's premier investigative documentary program. Hosts Bob McKeown, Gillian Findlay and Mark Kelley continue a tradition of provocative and fearless journalism. the fifth estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians – delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.
All Comments (21)
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Word of advice. You should NEVER ask a shop owner to check your ticket. Happened in Oldham, UK about 6 years ago. Old dear asked her newsagent to check her Euromillions ticket. She’d been shopping there for years. It was a £1 million Raffle Prize winner. He lied and said it hadn’t won. He then tried to claim it himself, the lotto people weren’t happy with his answers about the ticket. They knew the ticket had been bought at a supermarket using a bank card. They traced her that way. On CCTV. Gave her the mill. Gave the attempted fraudster 30 months in clink. Result. Oh and the newsagent had their lottery franchise taken away from them.
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When Lotto first came out in NZ, a grandmother had bought a ticket for her and her grandson. The parents stole the ticket saying it was their sons and that his grandmother had bought it for him, and she wasn't entitled to any of it. That backfired hugely when the courts determined that the grandson was underage and as the purchaser, the grandmother was entitled to every cent 😊
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I’m so happy these guys collected the money. They’re all so humble and deserving. Shame on those thieves!
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I loved how genuinely nice the lotto investigator was. And the group of construction workers seemed like a good bunch of guys. I was happy for them!
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in australia you buy a registration card and every time you buy a ticket you use your card to register the ticket ..no one can cheat you
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Years ago my Dad checked a ticket (at home) and it won $20. He later went to a kiosk and gave it to a East Indian lady to check the ticket. She said it was loser and tossed it. My Dad said no it’s not, she laughed and said she was joking. If I had my time back I would have had my Dad report her, it was obviously a scam!!
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I love that they paid the guys the interest on the years they didn't get their Winnings :)
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the guy who bought the ticket its a very honest man to tell his friends they all won
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The coolest part is his sister knowing it was his ticket. But I also enjoy seeing a bunch of good working men living less stressful lives, and doing it with class.
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Kudos to the OLG for pursuing this in finding the legitimate winners. Such a great bunch of guys to have become millionaires together. Sad there’s so many untrustworthy people out there trying to rip people off.
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I saw this in 2016 but watching again. I'm so happy for these fella's and their families. Amazing story about his beloved sister. I hope their lives have been good these past years and that they paid it forward. Love to get an update.
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I appreciate the fact that these lottery winners are still humble and down to earth. They deserve a comfortable life. Good things happens to people that are patient.
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There was a group of about six guys at a place I used to work at who were in a lottery syndicate. One guy was left to look after the ticket buying and did so for years until the day their lucky numbers came up. The prize was well into the millions and the guys celebrated and partied, committed to some big purchases and really lived it up. They ticket buyer guy seemed to be taking his time in cashing in the ticket and the other guys started asking questions. It seemed he forgot to buy the ticket that week, or that was his story anyway. They got pretty upset to say the least and questioned him about where he had been buying the tickets. He named the place and they weren't sure if he was telling the truth so they escorted him the the store and asked the store keeper if he recognized the guy and if he was a regular lotto ticket buyer. The store keeper said he'd never seen the guy before. They didn't kill the guy but they sure wanted to. Management had to relocate him to another part of the factory for his own safety. Not sure what the final outcome was with that but I think there's a lesson in it for anyone in a lottery syndicate.
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I never did trust clerks , always checked myself
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35:35 Love the laugh of the reporter when he questions the alleged ticket thief.
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Those guys are adorable. I also loved the way he subtly mocked that woman - "What have you been through?" - and then laughed in her face.
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The morale of the story: CHECK YOUR OWN TICKETS!
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I appreciated the olg guy being so committed to find the winner's of the ticket.
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I'm so glad this man got his winnings, especially since it seemed like a gift from heaven via his sister! Such an amazing story for him to tell his children one day!
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What an awesome story and may his sister rest in peace!!!
