A former convenience store owner has pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with the theft of a $5.75 million lottery ticket.
Hafiz Malik pleaded guilty Friday morning inside a Toronto courtroom. The charges are related to a Lotto 6-49 ticket that was purchased in 2004.
The ticket was purchased by four friends, all of whom worked for the Toronto Catholic District School Board at the time. The friends didn't discover they had won the $5.75 million jackpot until two years later in 2006.
One of the friends remembered she had taken the ticket to a small convenience store in Toronto. The lottery terminal didn't ring to indicate a winning ticket, so the friend believed the cashier who told her she hadn't won anything.
About seven months later, Malik cashed the winning ticket at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
The friends did some investigating to find out who cashed their winning ticket after they were refused Malik's name because of privacy laws.
The group discovered the owner of the convenience store closed shop and purchased a mansion in Mississauga as well as luxury cars. They eventually confronted the OLG and filed a report with police.
After an investigation, Malik was charged with two counts of fraud, one count of theft and possession of stolen property.
The four friends eventually received a check for the $5.75 million plus $788,000 in interest from the OLG.
