Toronto retiree charged with stealing $1M lottery win from a shared group ticket
A Toronto man who claimed a $1-million lottery prize has been charged with keeping the winnings for himself instead of splitting it with a shared group of buyers.
Alex Parucha, 70, has now been in two provincial news releases.
The first came from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) in July, announcing an exciting win in a Lotto Max draw. The OLG quoted the retiree’s feel-good story: “I won a free play, so I went to the store to claim it. When I handed my ticket to the cashier, she asked me if I wanted to add Encore to it, so I said, ‘Sure, why not?’” The next day, he checked the ticket. “I was in disbelief. I double-checked my ticket and counted the zeroes. When I realized it was a $1-million prize, I was overwhelmed,” the OLG release said.
At the time of his win, the OLG said that Parucha had been playing the lottery for almost 30 years and planned to use winnings to buy property, share it with his family and add to his savings.
“Being a winner is a very emotional experience,” he is quoted as saying in the OLG release. “It’s brought a lot of disbelief, happiness and excitement. I feel so fortunate to have won this prize.”
On Tuesday, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released a follow-up.
“The OLG Forensic Investigation Unit received and reviewed claims suggesting the winnings may have resulted from a group play arrangement,” the OPP release said. The case was referred to the OPP’s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau, attached to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Police started investigating the allegations in September “which confirmed that the ticket was part of a group arrangement. The winnings should have been shared among three individuals, not a single person,” police alleged.
Parucha was charged with theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000, and possession of property obtained by crime. The allegations have not yet been tested in court. He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto in January.
National Post
Unpublished Newswire
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