SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A man convicted of possessing another man’s winning $5 million lottery ticket has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.
The prosecutor’s office says Andy Ashkar, who is of Palestinian descent, was sentenced Tuesday morning to 8 1/3 to 25 years for having the ticket that was stolen at his parents’ convenience store in Syracuse in October 2006.
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The same judge who convicted Ashkar in May of criminal possession of stolen property handed down the sentence, citing his “rapacious greed.”
Prosecutors say Ashkar had stolen the winning scratch-off ticket from the real winner, Robert Miles. Lottery officials say they’re close to determining whether the ticket belongs to Miles.
Ashkar’s brother was cleared of conspiracy charges.
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