Mother Of Two Wins $5 Million On Lottery Ticket Bought By Mistake

January 4, 2018

A North Jersey mother of two is now set for life after winning $5 million on a spur-of-the-moment lottery purchase.

Credit: New York Lottery

Oksana Zaharov, 46, was shopping in Manhattan when she decided to buy a $1 scratch-off ticket. The clerk accidentally handed her a $10 "Set For Life" ticket by mistake.

"When the clerk handed me the wrong ticket, I felt bad so I decided to just go ahead and buy it," Zaharov said. "I actually used the ticket as a bookmark for a couple of weeks before I decided to scratch it."

When she finally did get around to scratching it, Zarahov at first didn't believe she'd won.

"I never win anything," she said. "I was sure the ticket was fake."

Now, Zaharov will receive a minimum of a guaranteed $5 million over the course of 20 years. After that, she'll receive $172,068 annually for the rest of her life.

While Zaharov said she plans to splurge on a big family vacation to the Bahamas, she wants her children to benefit from her good luck.

"They will have a loan-free college education," she said.