A lottery winner will finally get his money seven years after his ticket was taken.
According to The Post-Standard, Robert Miles of Syracuse was duped for his $5 million scratch-off lottery ticket.
Onondago County district attorney William Fitzpatrick told The Post-Standard persistence was key in retrieving the money.
"Even though people told us it was impossible to litigate these kinds of cases, that nobody ever wins -- we just didn't give up," he said. "From the beginning, we wanted to get Robert Miles his money. I'm very happy that I can say today that we succeeded."
The winning ticket was part of the lottery's jackpot extravaganza and sold at The Green Ale Market at 2208 E. Fayette St in 2006 The Post-Standard reported.
In 2012, two brothers in Nayel and Andy Ashkar approached a state lottery office in an attempt to redeem the ticket. Lottery officials began an investigation since they found it suspicious that the ticket was sold at the same store the brothers' parents owned. The lottery also found the length of time the brothers took to make their claim puzzling.
After Ashkars were announced as the winner, Miles proclaimed he was the real winner of the ticket, The Post-Standard reported.
Andy Ashkar reportedly told Miles the ticket was really worth $5,000. Miles was given $4,000, leaving $1,000 for the store. According to The Post-Standard, Andy was found guilty of possessing of stolen property, and recently sentenced to a maximum sentence of eight and a third to 25 years in prison.
After lottery officials spoke with the district attorney's office, it was confirmed that the ticket was verified and Miles will received his winnings.
