Christmas Lottery and Misappropriation

Christmas Lottery: Finding a Winning Ticket and Cashing It…

The story begins like this: she had purchased seven tickets for the Christmas Lottery draw that was to be held on December 22, 2014. She bought them at the Lottery Office in Plaza Santo Domingo in Lugo.

On those tickets, she had written a name in pencil on the back.

However, between December 18 and 21 of that year, she lost one of the tickets. Specifically, she lost the one that had won the first prize in the Christmas Lottery draw, worth €400,100.

Someone else found the ticket. After confirming it had won, they tried to erase the inscription on the back. They then presented it for payment at the Abanca branch on C/ Fontiñas in Lugo. As a result, they received a net deposit—after the legally required taxes were deducted—of €320,580 into their account.

Our profile at IN DIEM is that of criminal defence lawyers, so these stories interest us. And we read the judgment.

Offence of Misappropriation…

The judgment noted that the facts—finding a winning ticket and cashing it—constituted an offence of misappropriation. In this regard, it stated the following:

“Anyone who incorporates into their assets, or in any way exercises ownership powers over, a movable item that they have received with an obligation to return it, commits an offence of misappropriation… Misappropriation offences continue to be regulated in a different section, with disloyal administration by diversion of money now falling outside their scope, becoming part of the autonomous criminal offence of disloyal administration, which makes a review of its regulation necessary and is used to simplify the previous rules: A clear distinction is now made depending on whether it is a case of appropriation involving a breach of the relationship of trust with the owner of the item, a case that continues to be punished with a penalty equivalent to that for disloyal administration and fraud; Or cases of appropriation of another person’s movable property without breach of the duty of custody, such as appropriation of lost property not susceptible to occupation, where the current aggravation of the penalty applicable in cases of appropriation of items of artistic, cultural or scientific value is maintained, as well as in the case of appropriation of items received by mistake.”

Therefore, the defendant’s conduct remains punishable under current Article 254 of the Criminal Code, which punishes anyone who, “outside the cases of the previous article, appropriates another person’s movable property with a value exceeding 400 euros”, maintaining the same penalty as the previous provision, and therefore we do not consider it more beneficial for the defendant.”

The End of the Story…

In the end, as stated, finding and cashing a winning Christmas Lottery ticket resulted in a criminal conviction. The sanction required the return of €320,580, as well as a sentence of SIX MONTHS’ FINE at a daily rate of SIX EUROS (€1,080). The offence: misappropriation.

Criminal Defence Lawyer. Choosing Quality Criminal Defence…

We truly hope you are lucky and win the Christmas Lottery or any other. However, if you need guidance and defence in criminal matters, our specialised team, with a criminal defence lawyer profile, will be delighted to help you. Specialist lawyers with a long track record, including experience as Judges, Lawyers and Prosecutors… who will be pleased to advise you and resolve any criminal trial. You will feel calm and secure. If you need more information about our criminal defence services, you can click here.