Gambling often involves extremely tempting sums of money. Crooks are always thinking of ways to trick the system in order to boost the luck factor. In one particularly brazen case that just happened in Italy, fraudsters tried to collect a whopping 10 million euros with a fake scratch card. However, their attempt was so clumsy that it didn't take long for them to be exposed.

The chances of winning the top prize in scratch cards are vanishingly small - a statistical reality that players all over the world are familiar with. According to Sachsen Lotto, for example, tickets for the “Glücksschwein” draw have a meagre payout ratio of 47.00 percent. We found this out in an article on the lucrativeness of scratch cards.

But instead of resigning themselves to their losing ticket, three men from Apulia, Italy, resorted to a trick that would make them a whopping 10 million euros richer. The protagonists, a 51-year-old from Martina Franca and two companions from Ceglie Messapica, both in their mid-40s, had played a “Maxi Miliardario” ticket - one of the high-priced tickets in the national lottery with tempting prospects of winning. However, the numbers they scratched off were not enough to hit the jackpot. Two decisive hits were missing. What followed was a spectacularly clumsy attempt at fraud that was eventually exposed.

The men's supposedly ingenious plan consisted of writing the missing numbers on the ticket themselves and then submitting it as a legitimate claim to the winnings. In doing so, they not only showed remarkable audacity, but also an almost naïve confidence in their ability to cover up the manipulation. They wanted to redeem the ticket with the Italian lottery company by inserting the numbers on the scratch card in a conspicuously unclean manner. To lend even more credibility to their deception, they took an unusual step: they tried to have the ticket notarized in advance. In doing so, they hoped to dispel any doubts about its authenticity and provide themselves with legal protection. Incidentally, we reported in October that scratch cards are increasingly becoming the focus of gambling research.

The notarization by the legal expert actually worked. The notary did not notice the obvious irregularities on the lottery ticket. They only came to light during the thorough examination by the lottery office. The Italian police are now investigating attempted fraud involving millions of euros.

The notary waved the ticket through, but the national lottery became suspicious

Although the notary did not notice the brazen manipulations on the scratch card and formally certified the winning ticket, the fraudsters' joy did not last long. When the manipulated “Maxi Miliardario” ticket was submitted to the Italian National Lottery for examination, the responsible commission quickly sensed discrepancies. An in-depth investigation finally revealed that the winning numbers in the decisive “Maxi Bonus” field had been inserted retrospectively. It was a crude forgery that did not stand up to technical or visual scrutiny.

What is a “Maxi-Miliardario” scratch card?

  • The “Maxi-Miliardario” is one of the most prestigious and, at a cost of up to 20 euros, most expensive scratch cards in Italy, with a top prize of up to 10 million euros.
  • It is divided into different winning fields, which players have to scratch off to see if their numbers match the winning numbers printed on them.
  • The “Maxi Bonus” field, where the scam took place, offers a particularly attractive opportunity: if the scratched-off numbers are the same as the winning numbers, the regular prize is multiplied up to tenfold.

The men from Apulia took advantage of this rule and added two numbers to simulate an amount in the millions. However, they had not thought about the security precautions that every ticket goes through before such a jackpot is paid out.

Security measures during the lottery check:

  • Every scratch card submitted is analyzed both manually and by machine. In addition to matching the numbers, the chemical composition of the silver protection and the print quality are examined.
  • Tampering with the “Maxi-Bonus” field is particularly easy to detect, as the numbers it contains are specially coded and cannot be easily falsified.
  • As soon as discrepancies are discovered, the competent authority is called in to take further action.

The Italian lottery's investigation revealed that the forgery was amateurish and ignored basic requirements for the authenticity of a winning ticket. The three perpetrators had apparently simply hoped that the ticket would not be checked more closely.

Incidentally, a sophisticated poker scam involving micro headphones and a special smartphone camera was recently uncovered in France, demonstrating a new quality of criminal activity in this segment. The increasing number of organized online poker bots is also seen as a major problem.

They are now facing serious proceedings. The public prosecutor's office is accusing them of conspiracy to counterfeit, receiving stolen goods and attempted fraud. Under the direction of Judge Paola D'Amico, it will be clarified how the defendants intend to justify their supposedly simple plan - and whether they should be granted mitigating circumstances. Although their actions were certainly stupid, this alone will probably not be enough for the judiciary to grant them a certain amount of clemency.

What penalties can the million-dollar fraudsters expect?

The three men from Apulia are facing massive criminal penalties. Under Italian law, they are charged with several offenses:

  1. Forgery of documents (Falsità materiale commessa dal privato): Under Article 482 of the Italian Criminal Code (Codice Penale), forgery of documents is punishable by up to three years' imprisonment.
  2. Receiving stolen goods (ricettazione): Article 648 provides for a prison sentence of two to eight years and a fine of 516 to 10,329 euros for the acceptance or sale of stolen or unlawfully obtained goods.
  3. Attempted fraud (Tentata truffa): Attempted fraud is punishable under Article 56 in conjunction with Article 640. The penalty for completed fraud is one to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 51 to 1,032 euros - attempts are punished more leniently.

Overall, the defendants could therefore face a cumulative prison sentence of several years as well as substantial fines.

Incidentally, Italy has already experienced a prominent fraud in connection with scratch cards in the past. In 2021, it came to light that some employees of the state lottery company Lottomatica had used insider knowledge to scam millions in scratchcard winnings over a period of years. The authorities confiscated assets worth 17 million euros.

Conclusion

The case of the brazen lottery scammers from Apulia illustrates how ambitious, but at the same time amateurish, illegal attempts to trick the system can be. The plan to use manipulated numbers on a “Maxi Miliardario” scratch card to scam a million-dollar prize failed due to the security precautions of the Italian national lottery. Despite successful notarization, the deception was quickly uncovered.

Now the perpetrators have to answer for serious offenses, i.e. forgery of documents, receiving stolen goods and attempted fraud, which could earn them long prison sentences. The case impressively demonstrates that the strict controls in lottery auditing leave hardly any chance for manipulation - even if similar efforts have already been made, which were successful mainly due to insider knowledge. Ultimately, the question remains as to why the perpetrators thought they could get away with such a foolish plan.

Image source: Screenshot von https://www.grattaevinci.com/classico/il-miliardario-maxi

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