A one-year jail sentence for a man who defrauded a group of lottery winners six years ago is far too short, according to the family of one of the ticket holders who has since died.
Ontario Court Judge Rebecca Shamai handed the sentence to Hafiz Malik, a former convenience store owner who told one of the Lotto 6/49 ticket owners in June, 2004, that it was worth just $10, then kept the ticket for himself and later claimed $5.75-million in winnings.
“One year is definitely not enough,” said Erik Teicht, 27, whose mother Lorraine Teicht was one of four friends who had their ticket taken. “She would have been disgusted,” he said Tuesday, adding that the whole family feels let down by the justice system.
Ms. Teicht died of cancer on April 5, just days before a victim impact statement she had written was read out at Mr. Malik’s sentencing hearing. At that hearing, the Crown asked for a penitentiary term of 2 1/2 years, while Mr. Malik’s lawyer asked for a conditional sentence to be served at home.
In setting the sentence Tuesday, Judge Shamai noted that Mr. Malik was a family man, had worked hard after coming to Canada from Pakistan in 1990, and was a first-time offender. But she also said he had occupied a position of trust, stole a significant sum of money, and directly benefited from the crime.
News of his dishonesty “landed on the kitchen tables of ordinary Canadians” who buy lottery tickets, she said, and was noted by many people who would not have paid much attention to the larger frauds of people like jailed U.S. investment manager Bernie Madoff.
The ticket holders, all of whom worked at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, finally got their money from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., plus interest, in 2007.
Mr. Malik pleaded guilty to fraud last December. Police seized most of his property, including jewellery, two cars and three bank accounts. They are in the process of selling his house, which is worth more than $1-million. They will likely be able to collect about $6.1-million, about $450,000 less than what Mr. Malik owes from the original winnings, plus interest. The money will be returned to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
Outside the courthouse, Mr. Malik’s lawyer, John Filiberto, said his client was “extremely remorseful” for his actions. OPP Detective Sergeant Dorian Dwyer, who worked on the investigation, said the case was important because “the integrity of the lotto system was at risk.” He said it was unfortunate that Ms. Teicht was not able to see the final result.
The fraud took place before Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin’s 2007 report that accused unscrupulous retailers of collecting tens of millions of dollars in “dishonest” winnings – and the lottery corporation of letting them get away with it. Since then, the OLGC has changed the way lottery tickets are checked in stores, and has banned storeowners from buying tickets at their own establishments.
An OLGC spokesman said Tuesday the corporation was “gratified” that Mr. Malik pleaded guilty and was sentenced, but it had no comment on the length of the jail term.
