I won $5 million playing the lottery, but ended up with hundreds of thousands of debts – so I lost it all

DANIEL Carley had the world as his oyster when he secured a $5 million jackpot playing the lottery – but bad decisions turned his world upside down.

Ten years later, in 2016, after winning the lottery, Carley’s life hit rock bottom when he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for cocaine trafficking.

2

2

Carley’s story begins on February 21, 2006, when he purchased a dozen Ontario Big Game scratch-off tickets for $10 at a local convenience store.

He won the largest instant cash prize in the province’s history at the time.

After winning a huge amount of money, Carley revealed her intentions to reporters.

Carley planned to keep most of her earnings in the bank to raise interest.

He also wanted to invest some of his money in his bar, Carley’s Pub, Niagara This Week also reported.

Shortly after hitting the jackpot, Carley helped her friend launch a new multiple sclerosis charity event, according to a Niagara This Week report at the time.

Three years later, Carley became a father after his common-law wife at the time, they are now separated, gave birth to their son.

Things began to go downhill for Carley soon after, according to her longtime attorney, Brenda Sandulak.

In the years that followed his great victory, we saw a series of bad investments made worse by drug use and coexistence with “questionable characters”, said his former lawyer, family and friends.

SPIRAL DOWN

Carley spent half of her money three years after her win, according to Sandulak.

“The lottery win started a spiral that led to a severe drug addiction, and he wasn’t thinking very clearly for a long period of time,” Sandulak said.

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

Sandulak believed that Carley’s “unhappy investments” and his youth made him “ill-equipped” to manage millions of dollars.

“A lot of people took advantage of him because of his money,” she said.

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

Life continued to get more difficult for Carley when his former best friend filed a lawsuit against him, claiming a share of the prize money.

The case was eventually dropped, but lasted three years, according to an Ontario Superior Court judge’s ruling.

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

“It was weird to feel sorry for someone who won $5 million.”

Carley grew up in a working-class neighborhood near downtown St. Catharines.

Since being arrested, Carley has given back to the community.

He helped with the volunteer efforts of the provincially funded Community Addiction Services of Niagara, his lawyer revealed.

During all of this, Carley’s mother, Donna, was going through her own battle.

Donna revealed that she was battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.

“I’m very, very tired,” she said, highlighting her son’s troubles with the law.

She has shown her support for Carley throughout all of her troubles with the law.

“Am I proud of the decisions he made early in life?” said his mother, Donna Carley.

“No, I’m not.

“Am I proud of the way he decided to own his choices? Yes, I am,” she said. the star.

To this day, not much is known about Carley as he has remained private and out of the spotlight.

Also not much is known about her mother’s health after she battled cancer and underwent chemotherapy a few years ago.