Agence France Presse reports the heartbreaking Brazilian gambling story of a 40-strong lottery syndicate that rejoiced over winning $30 million, only to discover that the seller had not entered the numbers in the draw.
Police are investigating a case of fraud after the shop that sold the lucky ticket failed to register it, thus disqualifying it from winning the massive prize.
“We know that the ticket was paid for and if the ticket was not properly issued [by the seller] then fraud was committed,” a local police chief, Clovis da Silva, said.
The government financial agency responsible for the lottery has suspended the shop in the southern city of Novo Hamburgo, and the bitter would-be winners are looking at launching a lawsuit.