Stolen Credit Card + Winning Lotto Ticket = Stupid Criminal

from the yes-i-am-santos-l-halperin dept

Fri, Oct 28th 2005 10:07am — Carlo Longino

An Oregon woman went to the state's lottery HQ earlier this month to claim the first installment of a $1 million prize she'd won with a ticket. She took the $33,500 and ran -- the only problem being she'd bought the winning ticket with a stolen credit card. Apparently the woman used her mother-in-law's card -- her mother-in-law that died over a year ago. So a lesson for stupid criminals everywhere: stick to cash. And to whoever stole all those numbers from CardSystems: don't buy lotto tickets.

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38 Comments

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Anthony, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:21am

Here's your sign
who buy's a lotto ticket with a credit card anyway? they cost a dollar!!!
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Neosin, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:27am

Re: Here's your sign
Stupid stupid stupid... can't believe that...
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BP, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:29am

can't do that here
Minnesota doesn't let you buy lottery tickets with credit card. "Yeah, I'd like 2000 powerball tickets please. Put it on my card. I'm SURE to win that way."
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CharlieWoo, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:31am

No Subject Given
So are the winnings going to goto somebody else? or does they just keep what they didn't have to give out.
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Ironman2003, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:49am

Stolen Credit Card
Funny thing is according to our local news paper where it happened, (Medford, Oregon), she signed the credit card reciept in her own name. OOPS!
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Ironman2003, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:51am

Re: Stolen Credit Card
Here's the link to the story by the way with her picture.

http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/1028/local/stories/03local.htm
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2005 @ 11:54am

Re: No Subject Given
It probably won't work this way and I really don't care about meth-heads anyway, but I think she should have to use the money to completely clear the debt of her aunt's credit cards and herself, but she should be able keep the remainder of the money. She should also be punished for the fraud she was busted for and the meth that was found. Jail time is necessary, but she should still get the money for the lottery in my opinion.

Luck is luck. What if i found a winning lotto ticket in the trash because the purchaser was an idiot and it ended up being purchased illegally? Do I not have the right to cash it in then? I really don't know the rules of lotto since playing at all is so foolish on a mathematical level. But I don't think how a lotto ticket is obtained should matter. And I don't think you should become inelligible just because you are a criminal or have committed a crime in the past.

My logic is probably a little flawed, but eh, whatever...
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2005 @ 12:04pm

Re: Stolen Credit Card
That sucks but may help prove her "innocence" in the matter. For all we know, she borrowed the credit card with permission from her aunt before she died (yes a year earlier i know, but i've left shit i dont use in my wallet for much longer) or received it when she died and just had it on her still. Then she may have accidentally used the wrong card to purchase her items at the store.

I mean if you were actually TRYING to use a credit card illegally, you'd probably at least sign with the name that's on the card. And you wouldn't only be buying little convenience store items. But then again, she was on meth most likely and therefore probably borderline retarded. It could go either way.

Was there any evidence of her abusing the card at any other times since her aunt's death?

OR... maybe she just had shitty credit and was using it and paying off the card in her aunt's name because she couldn't get her own card in her name.

All kinds of possibilities.
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Stoned4Life, 28 Oct 2005 @ 12:10pm

Let her have it
If she's that stupid, I think they should pity her and either keep the money she already received, or give her all of it...
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Bob, 28 Oct 2005 @ 12:21pm

Re: No Subject Given
"...but she should still get the money for the lottery in my opinion."

What if I stole $1 from your wallet and purchased a lottery ticket. Then I got lucky and won 50 million dollars from that $1 of yours.

By your logic, I am entitled to the winnings because it was ME who lady luck smiled upon, not you. The fact I used your dollar is irrelevant, you are entitled to nothing. By the way, once I collect my first installment of the 50 mil, remind me I owe you $1.

On a personal note I do play the lotto, but spend the minimum amount necessary for an entry. There is no point to buying multipliers or any of that nonsense. Sure its a far fetched game, but without an entry you're 100% guaranteed to lose.
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BK, 28 Oct 2005 @ 12:49pm

Re: No Subject Given
Of course! Just because the dollar was mine before you stole it doesn't mean I would have used it to play the lotto and won. You should be arrested for stealing my wallet, but still get your winnings.
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Kat, 28 Oct 2005 @ 1:47pm

Re: No Subject Given
I don't think they should get the money, if they used stolen money to purchase the ticket.. in which ever form the money comes.. be it coins, or bills.. or credit card... a crime is a crime, and that's all there is to it... that's like saying if someone robbed a diamond store of all their precious jewels, that just because the diamonds belonged to the jewelers before the criminal stole it.. doesn't mean they still belong to the jeweler after... this way of looking at it.. means they technically belong to the theif... and they should get to keep the loot, even though they obtained it illegally. ...

No person should get to keep the loot, from something, if they gained it in an illegal manner.

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Buckie, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:03pm

Re: No Subject Given
Agreed. You should only be charged with the crime committed. Whatever goes on the record, punishment, and the payback of the dollar? What he did with dollar was not illegal even though ill gotten. I am sure some of the money we have now has been stolen in one form or another. And that make you responsible for having stolen money if it had never been given back to it original owner at one point. Making you just as guilty as the thief.

Possession is 9/10ths of law and ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it.
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RBasil, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:09pm

Re: No Subject Given
"Sure its a far fetched game, but without an entry you're 100% guaranteed to lose."
Bob, You have it backwards. Without an entry you are 100% guaranteed NOT to lose. In fact I would consider it winning because you didn't waste your money playing in the first place.
You lottery players always amuse me with your excuses for blowing your money time and time again.
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Buckie, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:12pm

Re: No Subject Given
"means they technically belong to the theif... and they should get to keep the loot, even though they obtained it illegally. ..."

I agree with that. But this is a little different.

Say the diamonds are stolen. Thief uses the diamonds to cut glass sculptures, that sale like mad, and he makes a fortune (Like playing the lotto with stolen dollar)

Then his is found guilty of stealing the diamonds. Does that mean he has to give back money made for his work he used them for? After he does his jail time, gave back diamonds and whatever else might happen to him in the legal process?
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RBasil, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:13pm

Re: No Subject Given
Criminals should not be able to profit from their crimes. PERIOD!
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:14pm

Re: No Subject Given
How many times have you won playing the lotto buddy? And if you were to add all those dollars up, how much have you spent?

The reason you win if you do win is luck, period.

Since it was her relative, I don't see a problem with her keeping the money if she pays it back to the credit card company along with all the other charges on the card. What if her aunt had given her permission to use her card before she died?

And why the hell is the credit card working when the owner of it is deceased anyway??? I mean come on, no wonder there is so much fraud. That's just ridiculous.

Are there any laws that say it isn't OK to use someone else's credit card when you have their permission?
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:20pm

Re: No Subject Given
"Criminals should not be able to profit from their crimes. PERIOD!"

So its illegal to play the lotto?
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:28pm

Re: No Subject Given
99% of the time, yes you are right, a criminal should not be allowed to profit from a crime. But this is a strange situation. And it was only a dollar.

The "CRIME" she committed she profited one dollar. And you are right she should not be able to keep that dollar. She should have to pay back the money used illegally and be punished for doing it (with fines or jail time if necessary). The money she made was not made because of a crime by any means. It was made because she was lucky enough to obtain that lottery ticket.

The simple fact remains that if she had stolen a dollar bill off her dead aunt's dresser a year ago and just now used it to buy the lottery ticket, noone would have disputed a thing.
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nostranonymous, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:32pm

Re: No Subject Given
She shouldn't be allowed to keep the money ONLY because she was using a credit card to purchase a $1 item.

In fact, anyone who does that should IMMEDIATELY be thrown in front of a train.
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CoolNerdBoy, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:34pm

Re: No Subject Given
I completely agree with the fact that she should be allowed to keep the money she won. Not giving her the money after her hopes are up so much is extremely cruel. She should be punished for what she did, but she shouldn't have to live regretting it for the rest of her life; the crime here is pretty benign, especially if it's a "stolen" credit card that belonged to a now deceased person.
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buckie, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:36pm

Re: No Subject Given
"She shouldn't be allowed to keep the money ONLY because she was using a credit card to purchase a $1 item."

Where does it state that was all she bought? ;)
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matthew, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:37pm

Re: Here's your sign
in texas you cant by anything "lotto" with credit card.
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buckie, 28 Oct 2005 @ 2:39pm

Re: Here's your sign
from the article.

"Detectives began tracking Goodenow on Wednesday after learning that she had used the credit card to purchase several items, including the ticket."

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drew, 28 Oct 2005 @ 3:11pm

Re: No Subject Given
so if i steal a truckload of lotto tickets, and one happens to be a winner, i should get the money?
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thatguy, 28 Oct 2005 @ 3:38pm

Re: No Subject Given
No because you stole the tickets. She didn't steal the ticket, she bought it with stolen money. BIG DIFFERENCE!
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drew, 28 Oct 2005 @ 4:06pm

Re: No Subject Given
"No because you stole the tickets. She didn't steal the ticket, she bought it with stolen money. BIG DIFFERENCE!"

"But I don't think how a lotto ticket is obtained should matter."
no difference to the person i was replying to
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nick, 28 Oct 2005 @ 4:29pm

No Subject Given
i live in oregon, i buy lottery tickets, you are required to pay cash.......!
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ironman2003, 28 Oct 2005 @ 6:16pm

Re: No Subject Given
On the contrary, you can buy lottery tickets with just about anything. We had our personal checks stolen a few months ago and the iddiot took them to a supermarket and bought 40$ in tickets with a forged check. We have her on video. This is in the same city (Central Point, Oregon) where the credit card was used in this area.
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Kat, 28 Oct 2005 @ 6:40pm

Re: No Subject Given
I think there is a difference between having stolen money unknowlingly, and stealing it yourself. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there, who do have money that has been stolen at some point, in one form or another, but.. the difference is.. they don't know that they have the stolen money.

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RBasil, 29 Oct 2005 @ 4:52pm

Re: No Subject Given
"So its illegal to play the lotto?"

With a dead womans credit card.... Yes it is.
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RBasil, 29 Oct 2005 @ 4:54pm

Re: No Subject Given
"She shouldn't be allowed to keep the money ONLY because she was using a credit card to purchase a $1 item."
No, she shouldn't be able to keep the money because she was using a DEAD WOMAMS credit card to purchase a $1 item.
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RBasil, 29 Oct 2005 @ 4:55pm

Re: No Subject Given
"She didn't steal the ticket, she bought it with stolen money. BIG DIFFERENCE!"
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Tell a Judge that and see how far it get's you.
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julie, 29 Oct 2005 @ 8:43pm

lottery
South Carolina law expressly forbids buying lottery tickets with anything but cash. This includes credit cards, debit cards, check cards, checks, and gift cards. I'm not anti-lottery but I appreciate the forethough on this law, do we need to make it easier for gambling addicts to rack up a 1000 dollar scratch ticket bill?
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Oct 2005 @ 9:47am

Re: No Subject Given
The purchase is a fraudulent transaction, therefore null and void. The money goes back to the lottery as if the winning ticket had never been sold.
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Lukas B, 31 Oct 2005 @ 12:43am

I call bullshit
I dont think anywhere in the US you can purchase lottery tickets with a credit card. Has to be cash.
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Don Morse, 31 Oct 2005 @ 11:04am

Re: No Subject Given
let's take that logic a step further. you stole a dollar from my wallet, bought a lottery ticket and won, and I'm entitled to nothing. wrong, if you hadn't stolen the dollar, you would not have been able to purchase the ticket. It's mine.
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diane, 20 Jul 2009 @ 8:27am

credit cards
the only methods you can generate credit cards is send your credits cards information to 111._???sooooo at least you will get back two credit information.. try it cos it works.. i did mine and i have gotten more than 200ccs now
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Stolen Credit Card + Winning Lotto Ticket = Stupid Criminal

from the yes-i-am-santos-l-halperin dept

Reader Comments

Here's your sign

Re: Here's your sign

can't do that here

No Subject Given