Franz Prokop sues ex-partner's son for $3.6M lottery win
Former Maple Ridge city councillor in wheelchair after surviving being shot in the head last year
A former B.C. city councillor who survived a gunshot wound to the head last year is now fighting for a lottery jackpot he says was stolen from him six years ago.
Franz Prokop, who is now confined to a wheelchair, did not appear in court in New Westminster Wednesday, but his lawyers argued that six years ago he bought a winning ticket worth $3.6 million.
Prokop's lawyers told the court in New Westminster that he bought the ticket while shopping with his common-law partner, Angelina Dushop, and that after the draw, she realized the ticket was a winner.
She then allegedly came up with a plan to claim the winnings with her son.
Nearly a year later, Peter Dushop came forward to claim the jackpot.
A British Columbia Lottery Corporation manager testified Wednesday that, at first, she didn't award the ticket to Dushop because he wasn't initially clear on when or where he bought it.
However, BCLC ultimately deemed that Dushop did buy the ticket, and awarded him the money.
None of the claims have been proven in court.
Prokop, who had been working as a realtor, made headlines last summer in an unrelated matter after he was shot by an unknown assailant while showing a home in Maple Ridge.
In October, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said it was taking over what it called an attempted murder case, and said the suspect described to them is an Indo-Canadian man in his mid-50s, who had a full beard and a turban and who spoke with an accent.
Police have yet to make any arrests in Prokop's shooting.
With files from the CBC's Robert Zimmerman