Euromillions lottery conman jailed for snatching woman's handbag

Mark Mould, of Featherstone, committed the theft just three weeks after avoiding prison – receiving a 15-month suspended sentence – for the lottery fraud.

The 29-year-old made off after grabbing the woman's bag as she was using a cash machine in Burton Square, Stafford, on November 24 last year but was caught by an eye-witness to the theft, a court heard.

Judge Michael Chambers recommended Matthew Jones, the van driver who leapt from his vehicle and gave chase to Mould, receive a High Sheriff's Award for his actions.

He stole because he was hungry

Mould apologised on his arrest, claiming he needed money because he was hungry.

His 70-year-old victim was shaken but not injured in the incident, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Earlier that month the defendant had appeared in the dock in the same building for sticking together torn pieces of two lottery tickets in a bid to dupe Camelot officials into thinking he had scooped the jackpot.

But the convicted burglar’s plan failed after National Lottery investigators realised he had crafted the bogus ticket after the draw. Just days earlier he had cheated four women out of more than £200, it emerged.

There were no jackpot winners following the EuroMillions draw on October 14, 2016.

But Mould claimed his ticket was ‘in pieces as it had been in the washing machine’ and called Camelot five times between October 15 and 24.

Despite being assured there were no jackpot winners on that day, he sent a letter with what appeared to be pieces of a winning ticket to Camelot.

Lotto numbers he always used

He claimed he knew they were the numbers because they were his lucky numbers which he always used but it was clear to Lottery officials that his 'ticket' had been pieced together from two Lottery receipts.

Investigators discovered Mould had bought a ticket on the day of the draw and another with the winning numbers the next day. A unique number on the ticket also showed it was a fraudulent claim.

Mould, who persisted with the claim for nearly a year and sent several letters, was suffering from mental health issues and battling substance misuse at the time of his offending, it was said.

He also tricked four customers into handing over cash for carpet fitting services he never carried leading up to his lottery ticket scam. He admitted attempting to commit fraud and four counts of fraud between October 2016 and 2017.

He was handed a 15-month sentence suspended for two years, a 12-month community order and told to pay £265 compensation to the victims of his carpet fitting con.

Back at Stafford Crown Court on Monday, Mould, of Dark Lane, Featherstone, admitted the bag theft and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Judge Chambers also activated the 15-month suspended for the attempted Lottery fraud which he had breached.