Man accused of creating fake winning scratchie insists he's 'no cheat'
A father of four refused a $349,000 (£200,000) lottery jackpot after being accused of having a fake ‘winning’ scratchie has insisted he is “no cheat.”
Unemployed Eric Walker, 56, claimed the big win after saying he had scratched three matching symbols on the National Lottery’s $5.20 (£3) Pharaoh’s Fortune card.
Sixteen co-ordinates are given on the cards which are used to scratch off squares on a grid in the hope of matching three pharaoh symbols.
But lottery organisers Camelot have refused to pay up. saying that one of the co-ordinates on the card was ‘altered.’
The winning co-ordinate F5 appears to have been changed to an E5 – something Mr Walker denies and says must be result of a misprint.
However an image of his ‘winning’ card was published in a local newspaper and then appeared altered again later in the day.
Mr Walker, from Sheffield, in England, insists he won the jackpot ‘fair and square.’
A Camelot spokesman confirmed an investigation had been launched and it was found that a co-ordinate been altered.
However Mr Walker is refusing to back down and says that the money would be “life changing” for him and his partner Amanda Emmadi, 37.
Mr Walker, who buys six scratch cards a day, has children aged between 14 months and nine-years-old.
“In my eyes I’ve won £200,000 and I’m being cheated out of the money,” he said.
“They’re trying to tell me that an F has been changed to an E but I bought the ticket and scratched it myself.
“I haven’t doctored it, I’m not trying to cheat.
“If it’s a misprint then that’s their fault and they should still pay out, it’s nothing to do with me.
“I’m going to keep pressure on Camelot to sort this out, I’m not willing to let it go.”
Mr Walker bought the scratchie from a Premier corner shop near his house three weeks ago and scratched it straight away.
The game requires players to reveal a series of map co-ordinates and corresponding squares on a game board.
Mr Walker’s card shows that he uncovered three pharaoh symbols on squares D1, E5 and A5, however, the E5 code is accused of being altered.
The F5 square, which the code was originally believed to have been, is also scratched off.
A Camelot spokesperson said: “Based on the photo we were sent we were able to re-construct the scratchcard in our system.
“We can confirm that an F has been altered to appear as an E and is therefore not a winning Scratchcard.”
SWNS/ Mega Australia
