AÂ father is in hiding from his furious family after tricking them into thinking he had won $85.88 million in the Euro Millions lottery.
Fergus Frater, 46, promised his son Jordan, 25, a $12.5 million share of the jackpot and told his sister Lorraine that she would get a $2.5 million cut of the winnings, the Daily Mail reported.
He also fooled his local newspaper, The Argus, who splashed the story on its front page.
Son quits job
Jordan, a struggling roofer, quit his job. He and pregnant girlfriend Lucy Scrivens planned to move to Australia with their young daughter.
But he soon realized something wasn’t quite right when the name of the real winner, postal worker Angela Kelly, was revealed and Mr. Frater disappeared from his home town of Littlehampton, West Sussex, the Daily Mail reported.
Jordan was forced to ring his boss and ask for his job back.
“We’re so [poor] so it was a dream come true,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I could kill him … but he’s gone to ground and I’ve no idea where he is.
“He’s never done anything like this before.
“We just can’t work out what possessed him but he was telling everybody and the whole town thought he’d won.”
Mr. Frater’s sister, Lorraine told The Argus her brother told her he was planning to use the money to move back to his native Scotland.
“He told me he won the lottery and has just totally disappeared off the face of the Earth ever since,” she said.
Loyal locals
Some locals jumped to Mr. Frater’s defense with friends telling the Daily Mail he genuinely believed he won the jackpot.
Landlady of the Marine pub, in Littlehampton, Penny Ward stood by her friend.
“I think he believed he had won to be honest. It was only yesterday we found out who really won it,” she said.
Source: Herald and Weekly Times
