The sentence is up to 25-years in prison for a man who stole a $5 Million scratch off lottery ticket from its rightful owner.

Andy Ashkar was making $150,000 per year as a car salesman in Syracuse, New York State.  He moonlighted at his Dad’s convenience store.  When a customer brought in the winning ticket, Ashkar lied about the value and gave the man $5,000. 

Ashkar waited until just before the one-year deadline expired to claim it for himself, hoping to slide in without being noticed, and then he waited another 5 years to pick-up the check.

But his scheme unraveled when he couldn’t tell New York Lottery officials where the ticket was purchased.  The rightful owner is Robert Miles, a regular customer of the convenience store and a rather modestly paid janitor who lived and worked in the building across the street from the Green Ale Market.

“You've exhibited some of the most rapacious greed I have seen in a long, long time,” Fahey said, “You had six years in which you could have righted what you did to Mr. Miles.”

Nayef Ashkar, father of Andy Ashkar and owner of the Green Ale Market, is facing a conspiracy charge for his alleged role in the scheme.