The Provincial Court of A Coruña sentenced Manuel Reija on Thursday to three and a half years in prison for aggravated fraud in a 2012 lottery case. The court ordered him to repay 4.7 million euros jointly with Loterías and acquitted his brother.
The ruling found that Reija deceived a client in July 2012 while checking Primitiva tickets at his A Coruña shop. He spotted a 4,722,337 euro prize and convinced the player it was worthless to keep the ticket.
The court rejected the lottery seller’s claim that he found the ticket forgotten on the counter and cited machine records proving direct contact with the client. The rightful owner was José Luis Alonso, a retiree who died in 2014 without knowing he was a millionaire.
In addition to prison, Reija is barred from lottery-related activities. The money will enter Alonso’s estate. His brother Miguel, former provincial delegate, was acquitted for lack of evidence he knew of the fraud. The ruling is not final and may be appealed to the Supreme Court.
