A former auto dealership manager convicted of possessing an apartment complex maintenance worker's winning $5 million New York lottery ticket was sentenced Tuesday to up to 25 years in prison by a judge who cited his "rapacious greed."
The Onondaga County District Attorney's Office said Andy Ashkar, 35, of Camillus, was sentenced Tuesday morning to the maximum sentence of 8 years, 4 months to 25 years for having the ticket that was stolen from his parents' convenience store in Syracuse in October 2006.
Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey, who convicted Ashkar of criminal possession of stolen property during a non-jury trial in May, told him, "You exhibited some of the most rapacious greed I've seen in a long, long time."
(See One brother convicted, one acquitted in $5M lottery trial, Lottery Post, May 1, 2013.)
Prosecutors said Ashkar, a former finance manager at a Syracuse-area auto dealership, had stolen the winning scratch-off ticket from the real winner, Robert Miles. Lottery officials said Tuesday they're in the "final stages" of the verification process that will determine if the ticket belongs to Miles.
Ashkar's brother, Nayel, was cleared of conspiracy charges during the same trial. Their father, Nayef, owner of the store where the ticket was sold, is charged with conspiracy. He has a separate trial scheduled for September.
Police and lottery officials said the Ashkar brothers convinced Miles, a maintenance worker at an apartment complex near the store, that the ticket was worth only $5,000 when Miles bought it in 2006. The brothers paid Miles $4,000, took a $1,000 handling fee, then waited until the ticket was about to expire before trying to claim the jackpot in 2012, prosecutors said.
Miles said he wasn't thinking clearly that day because he had been high on crack cocaine the night before.
"It was a crime of greed, absolute greed, on the part of Andy Ashkar, and I'm pleased the judge took the stand that he did," Beth Van Doren, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, told The Associated Press. "The community is just outraged that this happened because everyone has an attachment to the lottery and the dream of winning money."
The minimum prison sentence Ashkar faced was 1 to 3 years in prison. Van Doren had asked for a sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison.
Andy Ashkar's attorney, Robert Durr, said getting the maximum sentence left his client "stunned." Durr said Ashkar didn't say anything in court when he learned his fate.
"We're disappointed," Durr said. "Based on my client's lack of criminal history and being a fairly productive member of the community, I thought the maximum was a bit excessive."
"We're disappointed," Durr said. "Based on my client's lack of criminal history and being a fairly productive member of the community, I thought the maximum was a bit excessive."
Apparently his lawyer didn't count cheating someone out of their lottery winnings as criminal.
All lottery vendors and their employees should get a copy of that article.
Andy Ashkar's attorney, Robert Durr, said getting the maximum sentence left his client "stunned."
What did he expect?
A slap on the wrist and a shame on you?
Trust no one and check your own tickets.
Amen. And check your tickets yourself! I was worried about this sentencing based on his brother being cleared but I guess the public interest concerns won out.
The opposite of disappointment is Jubilation and that was probably what they were expecting, thought he would get 18 months in the slammer. That caring Father of his is up next, hope he get over 8 years for his envolvment.
Andy Ashkar is about to turn into Sandy Ashkar lol I don't envy him
He sure will. The first thing they give you in prison is a mop for your head and red kool-aid for your lips. Glad to see one of these low lifes finally get punished good.
why hasn't someone locked the doors and burned the stor down yet? send them back to their country for sentencing.
That dirty dog has probably been ripping ppl off so I'm glad that he gets the maximum sentence. He just finally got caught. I don't trust them sand ninjas. I also check myself ?? TRUST NO 1 ya digg
did they not get banned from selling scratchers ? I always check myself dont trust them sand ninjas they are dirty
Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time.
Now just don't be like Tyron Biggums and go out and buy a big white rock!
Lucky schmuck got only a jail sentence. In some countries, they will chop of his fingers-lucky to be in the good old USA.
This won't stop future shop owners from stealing beside they steal millions each year without being caught. This was only one store busted on $5m theft so ask yourself how many more got away and how many more will get away in future. l always check my tickets myself but as long as there is too much money on the table the Devil is waiting to make a deal everyday. l just saw the movie R.I.P.D today they are the kind of cops we really need lol
Miles said he wasn't thinking clearly that day because he had been high on crack cocaine the night before.
Um, to say that his 5 million dollars is going to go up in smoke is a drastic understatement I believe.
Nice to see he got the MAX. And yea I wonder if NY Lottery took the Lottery out of the store? Or even if the store is even open anymore since the story broke. Thought I saw/read somewhere the locals are not shopping there anymore?
Stunned ? ! lol
Law School 101= stealing is a crime.
Lol Excellent point , Goteki54
We have to keep in mind that being greedy will get us nowhere. If we have ambitions in life to become rich we have to work for it. If we want to win lottery, we have to play to win it. We cannot fully enjoy to spend money that we didn't work for. I hope people will think twice before taking advantage of other people too.
I heard his father PLEAD GUILTY got probation and lost his lottery machines and rights to run them. About time. So the other brother got off and these 2 get time. Now lets see if the real winner gets paid ?? That would be a nice ending to this crappy story (yet happens ALL TOO OFTEN).
I think up to 25 years is harsh. They were foiled before they could collect the money, difference between that and collecting
or killing and collecting. That might be a life sentence for some people depending on age/health. Stealing is wrong but the
legal system is so lopsided that if a discovery is made to prevent the crime from coming full circle (get money and run)
then the sentence should not consist of making examples of certain people and not of all others with the same charges
by prosecuting to the full extent of the law and giving a sentence fitting of the crime. Do you really believe
25 years is fair? It wasn't fair for them to try to pocket what wasn't theirs but let the punishment be just and don't let
the whims of judges take the place of consistent sentences.
I just can't help think about the people that wound up dead due to money/lottery/tickets or lost their money
altogether with no chance of recovery and had to live that nightmare. The people that committed the crime against
some of them got a cake walk and shouldn't have gotten off as easy.
The 'real winner' is waiting for an ok to collect his money? He still has the chance of getting the money. The decision
lies with the state now on whether or not to pay him? - That should be a crime too. If he doesn't get the money, is that
stealing and worthy of a 25 year sentence too? It should be.
so wh is taking a book on how long the junkie winner lives? after getting his money. he should book himself into detox, and get a trust fund to only pay his bills for him, and not allow him any cash. so he can dry out and get a life worth living.
Hopefully he'll get the annuity although if he's still a junkie, I'm not sure if that'll even help. It's a tough one because he's obviously not up to the task of dealing with sudden wealth but where do you draw the line? When do you butt in and start managing lottery winners' lives without trampling on their freedom?