The story dates back to 2009, when Maria Pina, 84, went shopping at Carrefour with her granddaughter, Isabella, who at the time was 16, and her boyfriend, Nicola, Articolo Tre reported.
Afterwards, they decided to stop at a bar and chance their luck with a 'gratta e vinci' scratch card.
Later that day, they discovered they'd won €500,000.
That was when the otherwise warm relationship between Pina and her granddaughter started to change. She told Isabella she was too young to claim the windfall and that she would “look after” it until she turned 18.
But when Isabella’s birthday came around, she would not relinquish the cash.
Pina also neglected to acknowledge the small detail of the winning ticket being bought by Isabella and her boyfriend.
A legal battle ensued, with Pina being found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to 10 months in prison. She must also pay €5,000 in legal costs as well as return the money to the rightful winners.
It isn't the only scrap over lottery winnings to have hit the Italian courts. A woman is suing the Italian TV channel Rai for "shock, anxiety and depression" for leading her to believe she'd become a millionaire…only to discover the TV presenter had read out the wrong winning numbers.
READ MORE HERE: Jackpot 'winner' sues RAI for botched numbers
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