Riverhead Trio Accused of $75K Lottery Con
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York Three Riverhead men have been accused of conning a Take Five lottery winner out of his $74,000 winnings two months ago.Yalcin Nergiz, 41, Yunis Ozturk, 33, and his 47-year-old brother, Orhan, will be arraigned Wednesday at Suffolk County court on a grand jury indictment charging them with conspiracy and grand larceny.Prosecutors said the trio was working at the Valero Gas Station on Peconic Avenue in Riverside when they deceived the winner by paying him $774 of the $74,892 payoff when he redeemed the ticket on March 18.They allegedly cashed the winning ticket at the Lottery’s Garden City customer service center and the divvied up the proceeds—$48.318.27 after taxes—between them.The victim is 28-year-old Marvin Choy Nij, a Guatemalan construction worker who told police he cannot speak or write English, authorities said.The suspects are being held at Suffolk County jail without bail.They were arrested following a joint investigation with the district attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau, Southampton Town Police and the New York State Lotto Commission.