Lottery Seller Sentenced to 3.5 Years for Attempting to Steal 4.7 Million Euro Prize

A lottery ticket seller in La Coruña, Spain, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for attempting to claim a 4.7 million euro prize that belonged to a customer. Manuel Reija was found guilty of severe fraud after he concealed the winning 'Primitiva' ticket from its rightful owner.

The court determined that Reija acted with the intent to gain financially, deliberately creating a false sense of security for the victim by assuring him the ticket was not a winner. He exploited the trust placed in him as a lottery professional to perpetrate the deception.

The incident dates back to the summer of 2012 when a winning ticket was sold at a shopping center in La Coruña. Days later, Reija claimed to have found the ticket, stating it was left behind on his counter. This claim triggered a complex investigation by Spanish lottery officials.

Despite over 330 people attempting to claim the prize, which was subsequently blocked, investigators eventually pieced together the transaction history. Terminal validation records confirmed that the seller had direct contact with the customer when checking the winning ticket. The true winner, José Luis Alonso, a retiree from La Coruña, died in 2014, never realizing his immense fortune. His winnings will now be transferred to his heirs.

“

con la intención de lucrarse y creando deliberadamente una "falsa seguridad en la víctima sobre la inexistencia del premio", aprovechando la confianza que genera su profesión.