It was a short-lived lottery winning celebration for two friends after winning £4 million in the lottery and were later found out to have bought the winning ticket with a stolen debit card.

Mark Goodram, 38, and Jon Watson, 34, both from Bolton, went wild on a four-day spending spree after discovering they won a £4 million lottery prize from a scratch card ticket bought with a stolen debit card.

While they partied and drank for four days straight and fantasized about nothing but luxury cruises and properties, their dreams were cut short by one single question.

At the time of their discovery, Watson eagerly called the national lottery operator and handed the phone to Goodram so he could confirm the win. Following procedure, the National Lottery employee on the other end asked for their bank details so the prize money could be transferred.

Goodram must not have remembered how the pair bought their winning ticket since he revealed that they did not have a bank account to transfer the money to.

It was that slip of the tongue that raised the red flags — how could he have made a purchase using a debit card if he did not own a bank account?

Camelot investigator Stephen Long gave the duo a call the next day to inquire about the card used to buy the lottery ticket. In response, Goodram lied that it belonged to a friend named John, who supposedly “owed him money,” but he was unable to confirm “John’s” surname or where he lived.

The two friends were not about to give up on their winnings. They hired celebrity lawyer Henry Hendron to release the £4 million prize they thought they were owed, which was being held by Camelot until the conclusion of investigation.

The investigation revealed that the ticket was bought with a stolen debit card that belonged to a man named Joshua Addiman and the police were brought in. It was then revealed that the duo had travelled to London in April 2019 “to beg” since there was “more money to be made” than in their hometown. It was also there that they bought the winning lottery ticket at a Waitrose supermarket.

While there, they also bought about £90 worth of items at a Londis convenience store and another £72 worth of items including four more lottery cards.

According to prosecutor Denise Fitzpatrick, one of those tickets also netted the duo a £10 prize. Both men pled guilty to three counts of fraud and were jailed for 18 months, though Goodram was in for an extra month for breaching his bail.

Both men were arrested and interviewed in March 2020, but Goodram committed two more offenses while on bail and failed to show up at a court hearing. He was arrested again on Dec. 6.

Fitzpatrick told the court that both offenders have “extensive criminal records for dishonesty.” Goodram has 24 convictions for 48 offenses on his record and Watson has 74 convictions for 143 offenses.

To wrap up the sentencing, she finished by saying that she had no doubt the two friends would continue their malicious acts in the future, citing their “appalling records for dishonesty and theft.”