'Insider' lottery winner charged, $5 million in assets frozen

Ontario Provincial Police announced today that they have charged a Toronto convenience store owner who allegedly claimed a $5.7-million OLG lottery prize in 2005.

Police accuse Hafiz Zulqarnain Malik, 60, of Mississauga of stealing the ticket when the buyers asked him to validate it.

Malik owned a small Toronto convenience store that is no longer in business.

The following statement was issued by the OPP:

************************* OPP charge Mississauga man in $5.7 million lottery fraud investigation

MISSISSAUGA, ON -(December 19) - At a news conference today, the Ontario Provincial Police announced theft and fraud charges against a Mississauga man for theft of a winning lottery ticket and a fraudulent claim of the ticket's $5.7 million prize money.

The investigation is being led by the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) with the assistance of the OPP Anti-Rackets Section and Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit. The investigation is part of a broader OPP investigation into fraudulent Ontario lottery game prize claims by Ontario lottery retailers and employees.

The investigation focuses on "insider wins' between 1999 and 2006. Charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of theft over $5,000 is Hafiz Zulqarnain Malik, age 60, of Mississauga, Ontario. The investigation revealed that the winning Lotto 6/49 ticket was purchased in June of 2004 and that the $5,750,256 prize money was claimed by Malik in January of 2005. The investigation also revealed that the winning ticket belonged to a group of four people from the Toronto area, and that Malik fraudulently obtained the winning ticket from the rightful owners and subsequently collected the prize money. As a part of the investigation, assets of Malik valued at approximately $5 million have been restrained or seized including restraint orders on his Mississauga home, an investment account and the seizure of two motor vehicles. Malik is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 60 Queen Street West, Old City Hall, Toronto on December 19.

The investigation into other alleged fraudulent Ontario lottery prize claims is continuing.

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