PARIS (AP) — Thieves used a stolen card to buy a winning French lottery ticket worth 500,000 euros ($523,000). But they vanished before cashing in —- and now they’re among France’s most famous fugitives.
The man whose card was stolen, identified in police documents as Jean-David E., is offering to split the cash with the lucky winners. He wants his wallet back, too.
The thieves, meanwhile, face the risk of arrest. As of Saturday, the state lottery operator La Française des Jeux, or FDJ, said that no one had submitted the ticket to cash out.
″It’s an incredible story, but it’s all true,″ Jean-David’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Jean-David discovered earlier this month that his backpack had been stolen from his car in the southern city of Toulouse, including bank cards and other documents, the lawyer said. Jean-David asked his bank to block the card, and learned it had already been used in a local shop.
At the shop, a vendor told him two apparently homeless men had used one of his cards to buy the winning scratch-off lottery ticket.
“They were so totally happy that they forgot their cigarettes and their belongings and walked out like crazy people,” Debuisson said.
Jean-David filed a police complaint about the theft, but is ready to withdraw it if the thieves come forward so that they can share the money, Debuisson said.
″Without them, no one would have won,″ Jean-David said on public broadcaster France-2.
Prosecutors may try to seize the winnings, considering them illegally obtained gains, the lawyer said.
The lawyer launched a national appeal Thursday asking the perpetrators to contact his office to make a deal.
“You risk nothing ... we will share with you,” he said. “And you would be able to change your lives.”
The ticket will eventually expire, he warned.
“Time is working against us,” he said.
Lottery tickets are on display in a tobacco shop, in Paris, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Lottery tickets are on display in a tobacco shop, in Paris, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
FILE - The headquarters of the Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), the operator of France's national lottery games is pictured in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris , Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Lauren Betts was so dominant inside that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to lead UCLA past Mississippi 76-62 on Friday night and sending the Bruins to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
The 6-foot-7 Betts added 10 rebounds and three blocks for the No. 1 overall seed, which will face LSU on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four. The Tigers beat N.C. State 80-73 earlier Friday.
UCLA coach Cori Close called Betts a “generational player.”
“She’s not only dominant for herself, but she makes everybody on the floor better. And so you just want to put the ball in her hands as many ways and as many times as possible,” Close said.
Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists and was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins (32-2).
Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-10), who had reached the Elite Eight five times, but not since 2007.
Betts had a similar line — 30 points and 14 rebounds — in the Bruins' second-round 84-67 victory over Richmond.
“We’ve worked so hard to get here and I’m just so proud of the selflessness,” Betts said. “I think that to get to this point, it doesn’t matter who’s having their best game, it’s just getting wins at the end of the day. It took a lot of grit from everybody tonight, but I’m so proud of this program.”
Betts is one of just three players to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament in the last 25 seasons.
Ole Miss beat Baylor on its home floor to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.
“When I look at the season, no one wanted us here, and no one thought we would be here. And we’re still here," Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “We got this far, but unfortunately, we ran into a tough team tonight and did not prevail. But at the end of the day, we will continue to build."
Betts' layup put the Bruins ahead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss closed within 21-19 on KK Deans' jumper.
Deans' fast-break layup at the end of the first half got the Rebels within 30-29 at the break.
The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run and went up 45-33 on Londynn Jones' 3-pointer.
Gabriela Jaquez was all alone on a fast-break layup that put UCLA up 63-46 in the final quarter, and Ole Miss never threatened after that.
UCLA’s only two losses this season came against JuJu Watkins and Southern California before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final, beating USC 72-67.
“Honestly, I feel like ever since our loss to SC, I’ve just completely changed my mindset going forward. I think just being aggressive, no matter what, and doing whatever I need to do to help my team and just continuing to be positive regardless of what happens,” Betts said.
The Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State.
There were not enough superlatives for Betts' performance. She scored 16 of UCLA's 30 first-half points, the second time this season that she's scored more than half of the Bruins' points in a half.
She finished the game with a plus-23 rating, the highest of any player. And the Big Ten's defensive player of the year now has 93 blocks this season.
Last year, UCLA lost to LSU 78-69 in the Sweet 16. Now the Bruins have a chance at revenge.
“We expected to be in this position and it’ll be a good opportunity for all of us who were on the team last year because LSU’s the team that knocked us out,” Rice said. “So obviously want to come out, play hard and play really well against them.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) looks to get around Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs (7) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) runs to guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) and forward Kendall Dudley (22) as they celebrate after the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA head coach Cori Close directs her team during the first half against Mississippi in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) dribbles the ball during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) looks to get around the defense of Mississippi guard Sira Thienou (0) during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) looks to pass the ball as Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs (7) defends during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
