A legal question - who owns the winnings from a horserace bet that was placed using stolen money?

Question

This is based on a story in a British newspaper a couple of years ago. I didn't follow it up so I don't know the outcome, but maybe some legal eagle out there can suggest the possible verdict..
The story went like this... a thief stole a ladies handbag and got away. There was a credit card in the bag belonging to the lady, and he used it to place a bet on the horses at a bookmakers. (Not sure if it was an internet bookies, or high street) Soon after, the thief was caught and arrested. The ladies bag and credit card were returned to her. Meanwhile, the horse won the race that the man had bet on. SO..the question is - who legally owns the winnings from the bet? Is it the thief (who place the bet), the lady (whose credit card was used to place the bet), the police, (who might possibly claim the winnings as it was the proceeds of a crime), -or does the bookmaker refuse to pay out?..

Answer 1

the thief stole 100$ to place a bet. He gets arrested and pays back the 100$ back to the old lady (+ interests. something like 10%-15% a year. But since he got caught imediately, you can neglect that.), goes in jail for stealing stuff (or pays a fine).

The rest of the money is his since he has paid his debt to the lady (gave the money back) and to society (by going to jail or paying a fine).

The thing is: what the thief does with the money is his problem. If he manages to get a benefit from breaking the law, good for him. But that money was won legally. You can't take it from him.

Answer 2

Military school. First you need a large kennel, 100 yards of fishing line, an atm card, a bag of pot and some leaves. Cover said kennel in leaves, but the atm card and pot inside, then hide in a tree after tying fishing line to the door and trap him when he enters. But in all seriousness, if this is true the cop is full of it. When I was a teen I had lots of friends and even a family member go to a juvenile detention center. And if he's been missing for that long, he's a runaway which is an arrestable offense. Not big boy jail but little boy jail. Only problem with detention centers is they make more criminals than they cure. But I say you try and get him arrested and either conceive your own child and if that's not possible adopt a baby so you're not cleaning up someone else's mess. It's a crappy thing to say, but it's true. Most foster kids and whatnot are abused, came from drug addict/criminal homes and the like.

Answer 3

I know that this sounds like a cop-out, but it would seem to depend on the jurisdiction. For example, in Virginia, gambling debts are not collectible. Bookmakers pay gamblers even though they don't legally owe anyone anything simply to establish goodwill, so that people will keep gambling (so, the answer would be the bookie could not be legally forced to give the thief or the lady anything).

I cannot imagine any judge rewarding a thief for stealing money, so I suppose that if the bookie was legally obligated to pay someone, he would have to pay the owner of the credit card since it was her money.

But I am not familiar with British law, so I really don't know.

Answer 4

Not in the legal profession, but I would hope it would be the ladies money (at least the portion of the bet that was used to pay for the bet in the first place). I would think if the bet was placed on the internet that the winnings would have been put on the credit card. I am not sure how all of this works.

Answer 5

The winnings should go to the woman the money was stolen from.

Answer 6

Since the woman paid for the ticket by him using her credit card. I think she should get it because she paid for it and she suffered from the loss anyways and probably will not get all her things back that weren't in her bag too.

Answer 7

In your story the womans whose handbag was stolen does. the theif used her money to make a investment for her.......... She just didn't know about it.