French woman mistakenly thinks she won lottery and goes on $6,000 shopping spree

The woman's "winning" EuroMillions ticket was off by a single digit. PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A French woman who went on a major shopping spree after thinking she won the lottery is now being made to pay back the money she spent.

It turned out that her "winning" EuroMillions ticket was off by a single digit.

The unnamed 46-year-old had spent in excess of 4,000 euros (S$6,075) over three weeks in February and March 2014, splurging on perfumes, clothes and jewellery to celebrate her "windfall".

But her error was discovered after her husband checked her ticket, and she was subsequently arrested after the cheques she had issued for her purchases bounced, reported local French newspaper L'Est Republicain on Tuesday (March 8).

The woman, who lived in eastern France, made things worse by burning her handbag and lying to police that it had been stolen.

However, security cameras at the stores she shopped at showed her making the purchases.

Having initially denied any wrongdoing, she broke down in court earlier this week and admitted to fraud.

She was handed a four-month suspended sentence and ordered to find a job to pay off her debts.

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