(Long Island, NY) A grand jury has indicted three men suspected of swindling a Take Five lottery winner.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Yalcin Nergiz, 41, Yunis Ozturk, 33, and Orhan Ozurk, 47, all of Riverhead, will appear for arraignment before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho in the First District Courthouse in Central Islip today Wednesday May 8.
“Nergiz and Yunis Ozturk, working at the Valero Gas Station on Peconic Avenue in Riverside deceived the winner by paying him $774 of the $74,892 payoff when he redeemed the ticket on March 18,” DA Spota said.
“An investigation by this office’s Economic Crimes Bureau, Southampton Town Police and the New York State Lotto Commission established that on March 19, Orhan Ozturk, acting in concert with his brother Yunis and accomplice Yalcin Nergiz, cashed the winning ticket at the Lottery’s Garden City customer service center and the three divvied up $48,318.27 – the proceeds after taxes.”
The victim is Marvin Choy Nij, a 28 year old construction worker born in Guatemala who told police he cannot speak or write English.
The three defendants are incarcerated in the county jail without bail.
Justice Camacho will call the court calendar in Central Islip at 9:30 am.
The New York Lottery’s Ticket Safety Checklist
- Sign your winning ticket.
- Never hand a lottery ticket to anyone without knowing how much it’s worth. (If you have to give a ticket to anyone to assess its value or collect winnings, sign the ticket first and always keep your ticket in view.)
- A store is not authorized to hand out winnings above $600.
