14 DAY TRIAL // A man whose addiction to cocaine has lost him a lottery jackpot worth millions has finally received his prize.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Robert Miles won the lottery in 2006 and he was told by the ticket seller that he had only won $5,000 (€3,785). He was, in fact, the recipient of a $5 million (€3,8 million) prize.
His addiction led him to selling the ticket to the convenience store owner, one Andy Ashkar. Ashkar offered to buy it off him for $4,000 (€3,030). He claimed that the rest of the money went to taxes and were used as a cashing fee.
“They don’t sell $5 million (€3,8 million) tickets in the hood,” Ashkar told Miles.
At the time, Miles used the cash to purchase car rims and jewelry. Two years later, in 2008, he filed for bankruptcy.
Ashkar's crime was discovered in 2012, when he and brother Nayel tried to claim the prize. Since the Green Ale Market, where the ticket was sold, was owned by their parents, the incident prompted an investigation.
After seven years, Miles' scratch-off lottery ticket win has finally been validated. The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that the Syracuse man will be awarded the prize.
The “ticket has been verified [and] will be issued to Mr. Miles in the very near future,” an insider with the state lottery describes.
“Even though people told us it was impossible to litigate these kinds of cases, that nobody ever wins - we just didn't give up. [...] From the beginning, we wanted to get Robert Miles his money. I'm very happy that I can say today that we succeeded,” states Onondaga County District Attorney, William Fitzpatrick.
35-year-old Andy Ashkar has been tried and found guilty for possession of stolen property. He stands to serve 8 1/3 to 25 years in jail.