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Ontario man who won $5M lottery 10 years ago convicted of dealing cocaine

Dan Carley, then 24, proudly displays his lottery winnings in 2006. (ONTARIO LOTTERY & GAMING CORP) (ONTARIO LOTTERY & GAMING CORP)

Ten years ago, Dan Carley was on top of the world.

At just 24 years old, he had a fiancee, his own business and $5 million in the bank after winning the lottery.

Flash forward to today: the 35-year-old from St. Catharines, Ont., has been placed in a detention centre, before he heads to a federal penitentiary to serve a sentence of two-and-a-half years for cocaine trafficking, which he was given last week.

“The lottery win began a spiral that took him into some pretty heavy-duty drug addiction, and he was thinking not very clearly for a long period of time,” his longtime lawyer, Brenda Sandulak  who did not represent him in the cocaine trafficking case as her husband Ron Charlebois handled the duties  told The Toronto Star. 

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“The fast lifestyle turned into a disaster, quite frankly.”

Carley’s story begins on Feb. 21, 2006, when he bought a dozen $10 Ontario Big Game scratch tickets at a convenience store and won big time, collecting the biggest instant cash prize in provincial history at the time.

And Carley’s future looked bright: he told reporters at the time that that planned to stash most of his winnings in the bank to build interest, and a remainder would be invested in his bar, according to Niagara This Week.

Carley helped his friend with a new charity event for multiple sclerosis.

And in the three years after his big win, he started a family with his common-law spouse – they’re now separated – Sandulak told The Star.

But during that time, Carley had also seen more than half of his winnings disappear.

Sandulak said his cash was whittled away by “unfortunate investments,” because he was young and “ill-equipped” to handle his newfound riches.

“There were a lot of people who took advantage of him because of his money,” she told The Star.

“He was playing in a league way over his head.”

His riches also created a rift between himself and his “best friend,” according to The Star.

Sandulak said Carley came to her in “tears” several years ago after the friend tried to sue him for a share of the lottery winnings.

While it was eventually dismissed, it was fought in the courts for three-and-a-half years.

“I felt really sorry for the kid,” said Sandulak.

“It felt strange to feel sorry for someone who won $5 million.”

Carley, who was raised in a working-class neighbourhood near downtown St. Catharines, dropped out of high school.

After his arrest, he helped out at the local Community Addictions Services of Niagara.

“Am I proud of the decisions he’s made earlier in his life,” his mother, Donna Carley, who is battling breast cancer, told The Star. 

“No, I’m not.”

“Am I proud of the way he’s decided to own up to his choices? Yes, I am,” she said, adding that she was looking forward to overcoming the disease and seeing her son “come out the other side.”