Three NY store clerks held in theft of $75,000 lottery ticket
He was a Guatemalan immigrant who spoke little English and had a fondness for scratch-off lottery tickets; they were two clerks at a Long Island gas station who saw an opportunity.
When the clerks scanned Marvin Choy Nij's Take 5 lottery ticket and gave him $774, congratulating him on his windfall, he never suspected the real worth of his lucky ticket: $74,892, which the clerks, Yalcin Nergiz, 41, and Yunis Ozturk, 33, promptly cashed in for themselves, the Suffolk County district attorney, T ...
May 8, 2013, 10:33 pm - Lottery News forum
One brother convicted, one acquitted in $5M lottery trial
In a closely-watched trial in Syracuse, New York, a judge convicted one brother accused of stealing a winning $5 million lottery ticket from a convenience store customer but threw out conspiracy charges against his brother.
Andy Ashkar, 35, was found guilty by Judge Joseph Fahey of criminal possession of stolen property. He was handcuffed and taken to jail immediately following the verdict.
His brother, Nayel, who was acquitted on charges of conspiracy, was free to leave.
Prosecutors sa ...
May 1, 2013, 12:01 pm - Lottery News forum
Decision in $5 million lottery ticket theft trial in Judge's hands
Judge Joseph Fahey said Friday he will take a few days to make his decision after closing arguments in the trial of two New York brothers accused of stealing a winning $5 million lottery ticket.
The bench trial before Judge Fahey began Monday of last week and concluded on Friday.
Robert Miles, a maintenance worker who claims he is the real winner of the $5 million, alleges that Andy Ashkar, who is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, stole the ticket from him at The Green A ...
Apr 30, 2013, 8:10 am - Lottery News forum
Prosecution calling last witnesses for $5M lottery theft trial
Prosecutor Beth Van Doren has called 11 out of 15 potential witnesses to the stand in the Onondaga County Court trial of two brothers accused of stealing a winning $5 million lottery ticket.
The bench trial before Judge Joseph Fahey began Monday and resumes this morning. Thursday, Van Doren questioned several co-workers of Robert Miles, a maintenance worker who claims he is the real winner of the $5 million.
Miles alleges that Andy Ashkar, who is charged with criminal possession of stolen ...
Apr 26, 2013, 7:17 am - Lottery News forum
Emotions run hot in NY brothers' $5M lottery ticket trial
Defense attorneys had the chance this morning to question a lottery investigator who interviewed two brothers claiming to have won $5 million off a scratch-off ticket sold at their father's store.
Jay Hemlock, who was called to the stand Tuesday afternoon by prosecutor Beth Van Doren, was in court for further testimony this morning.
Hemlock said he investigated Andy and Nayel Ashkar's claim for $5 million with the New York State Lottery. The brothers are on trial in Onondaga County Court b ...
Apr 24, 2013, 5:44 pm - Lottery News forum
NY brothers' $5 million lottery theft trial enters second day
The trial of two brothers accused of trying to claim $5 million in winnings off a stolen lottery ticket started Monday at 1:00 pm in Onondaga County Court, in Syracuse, New York.
(See Non-jury trial expected next week for lottery-thieving brothers, Lottery Post, Apr. 19, 2013.)
Andy Ashkar, 34, is accused of stealing a winning ticket from customer Robert Miles at The Green Ale Market on East Fayette Street in Syracuse on Oct. 27, 2006. Prosecutors say Ashkar told Miles the Extravaganza tic ...
Apr 23, 2013, 4:52 pm - Lottery News forum
Non-jury trial expected next week for lottery-thieving brothers
Two brothers accused of attempting to claim $5 million from the state lottery office with a stolen scratch-off ticket will waive their right to a jury trial, according to attorneys.
(See NY brothers charged in plot to steal $5M New York Lottery ticket, Lottery Post, Nov. 14, 2012.)
Andy Ashkar, 34, and Nayel Ashkar, 36, will opt on Monday to have County Court Judge Joseph Fahey decide their innocence or guilt, said defense attorney Robert Tisdell.
Tisdell, who is representing Nayel Ashk ...
Apr 19, 2013, 2:57 pm - Lottery News forum
Judge throws out some charges against lottery-thieving brothers
An Onondaga County Court judge who dismissed attempted grand larceny charges against two brothers accused of stealing a winning $5 million lottery ticket in 2006 ruled the crime was beyond the statute of limitations.
Judge Joseph Fahey upheld other charges brought against Andy Ashkar, 34, and Nayel Ashkar, 36, who are accused of taking a scratch-off lottery ticket from a customer at their father's convenience store on Oct. 27, 2006.
Prosecutors contended that because the brothers waited to ...
Apr 16, 2013, 7:35 am - Lottery News forum
N.Y. Lottery may lift curbs on Quick Draw keno game
Pronto Lotto does not look like much. It sits outside the entrance to a busy subway stop in Elmhurst, Queens, supplying passers-by with cereal, chips and milk like any other bodega.
But Pronto Lotto's real business takes place in the carpeted, hushed area where its most devoted customers watch video screens from a scattering of tall silver tables, hour after hour, day after day.
The players mostly men, about a dozen at any given time come on their lunch breaks or after work to study the sc ...
Feb 22, 2013, 3:30 pm - Lottery News forum
Plea deal settles N.Y. lottery ticket trial; immigrant will get $2.5M
A plea agreement Friday in Rockland County Court has ended the case involving a Spring Valley, New York, immigrant's $3 million lottery ticket and three men accused of trying to steal a portion of it.
Elfido DeLaRoca will get about $2.5 million before taxes over the next 15 years, while the three men will avoid jail on a theft charge. One of the men will get $300,000 from the winnings.
DeLaRoca, 45, a Guatemalan national living with his fiancee and daughter, bought the $10 scratch-off tick ...
Feb 16, 2013, 8:02 am - Lottery News forum
