Card owner offers unusual plea deal to criminals

By Kate Northrop

Thieves who stole another French man's credit card used it to buy a lottery ticket and won €500,000 (US$524,000), after which the credit card owner offered to split the cash with him.

In a bizarre string of events, a French man whose credit card was stolen, used to purchase a lottery ticket, and won €500,000 is extending an olive branch to the thieves who took it in the first place.

On Feb. 3, two thieves broke into Jean-David Estele's car in Toulouse. They swiped his backpack, which contained bank cards and other documents.

Before Estele was able to freeze his card with his bank, the criminals had already used it to buy several items at a bar that same day, Pierre Debuisson, Estele's lawyer told CNN. One of the items the criminals purchased was a scratch-off ticket, which happened to be a winner for a €500,000 prize.

"It's an incredible story, but it's all true," Debuisson said to The Associated Press.

Police have had no luck in identifying the pair, but they are thought to be homeless based on a witness account of the retailer staff that sold them the ticket and surveillance footage.

"We don't know much about the thieves beyond the fact that they are homeless," Debuisson said in an interview with CNN. "We have some video footage, but the quality is poor."

Regardless, the thieves will find themselves in a bind. To claim the prize, they will have to present the winning ticket to the Lottery. Doing so means revealing their identities to lottery operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ), which could also lead to their arrest. No one has come forward with the ticket, according to FDJ.

However, Estele is willing to let bygones be bygones, as long as they at least give him his wallet back. He filed a police report but is willing to withdraw it if the thieves step forward to split the winnings.

"It's a miracle for both the thieves and my client," Debuisson said to CNN.

Meaning, if it were not for the thieves' criminal actions and their purchase, the lottery win would not have taken place.

"Without my client's credit card, it would not have been possible to buy the ticket, but without the thieves' behavior, the ticket wouldn't have been bought either," Debuisson continued. "I really hope the thieves contact my office to strike a deal that benefits both them and my client, who, despite the crime, is extremely happy to have had his credit card stolen. It's truly unbelievable."

Despite the appeal of a potential agreement between Estele and the thieves, it might not come to fruition. Prosecutors could still confiscate the winnings on grounds that they were illegally obtained.

Yet, Estele and his lawyer are hoping their offer still stands. In an attempt to reach their intended audience, he and his lawyer are publicizing the proposal to gain national attention.

"You risk nothing... we will share with you," Debuisson said in a statement. "And you would be able to change your lives."

But time is ticking. Lottery winners in France only have 30 days to claim prizes for scratch-off tickets.

"Time is working against us," Debuisson said.

With their hypothetical half of the winnings, Estele said he and his wife would hope to build a new house.