Ren Xiaofeng and Ma Xiangjing, two men with audacious ambitions, had devised what they believed to be the perfect crime a year prior. Their plan hinged on the cooperation of two security guards, allowing Ren to discreetly abscond with 200,000 yuan—equivalent to $62,000 today—from the bank.

With the stolen cash in hand, Ren embarked on a risky gamble, purchasing a massive quantity of lottery tickets. His plan was simple yet perilous: win enough money to replace the stolen sum and return it to the bank before anyone noticed the funds were missing.

Incredibly, luck was on Ren’s side, and he secured a win substantial enough to cover the purloined amount. He quietly returned the 200,000 yuan to the vault, leaving the bank completely oblivious to his initial theft.

Buoyed by their initial success, Ren joined forces with another manager, Ma Xiangjing, to execute the same scheme on an even grander scale. The pair were determined to repeat their audacious heist, hoping once again to elude detection.

Against the odds, he did win enough to cover the stolen money, and he returned 200,000 yuan to the vault with the bank none the wiser.

Enlisting the help of another manager Ma Xiangjing, the pair set out on the same scheme, but bigger.

They stole the equivalent of $10 million from the bank vault.

But they weren’t so lucky the next time.

Desperate to recover their losses, they stole another $5 million from the bank, spending nearly all of it on lottery tickets.

The winnings on their third attempt was just $30,000 — nowhere near what they had stolen.

Their ticket purchases made for a record-breaking week for the lottery in Hebei province.

It was two days after the third attempt that branch managers noticed the missing cash and contacted police.

Ren and Ma tried to flee using fake IDs, but were caught two days later after being placed on China’s most wanted list.

They were found guilty of embezzlement and executed by firing squad less than a year later.

The vast majority of the cash was never recovered.