B.C. man who says his $3.6 million lotto ticket was stolen loses in court

VANCOUVER – A man who claimed his $3.6 million lottery ticket was stolen is out of luck after a B.C. Supreme Court judge rejected his claim.

Franz Prokop, a realtor and former Maple Ridge, B.C., district councillor, claimed his common-law partner’s son stole the Lotto 6/49 jackpot ticket purchased in 2007.

Prokop claimed he was with Peter Dushop when he purchased the ticket, but was on the phone during the transaction.

Dushop claimed he picked the numbers, signed the ticket and purchased it alone and there’s no proof the winning number was among a pile of lotto tickets on Prokop’s desk.

Justice Robert Crawford ruled against Prokop, saying Prokop failed to prove that the ticket was stolen from him.

Prokop first filed the claim in 2008 but it was tied up in a series of conflicting arguments and was delayed even further when Prokop was badly wounded by a gunshot.