A Long Island man who was charged with not paying taxes for five years was announced yesterday as a $5 million lottery jackpot winner.
Dr. David Shaffer, a podiatrist working in Flushing, Queens, will take home $3.1 million, after taxes, for scratching off the winning boxes on a $5 Million Multiplier ticket.
State tax authorities slapped Shaffer with four class-E felony counts in January 2010 for failing to file tax returns from 2002 to 2007. He owed $13,419 in back taxes, said a news release from the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay restitution, a department spokesman said.
Shaffer, 61 — who could not be reached for comment once The Post discovered the tax issue — called the lottery win “a life changer” at a morning event in Manhattan.
He bought two tickets during a coffee break. The second contained the big prize.
He doesn’t plan to quit work but said he would devote more time to his hobby, songwriting.
“Now I can focus on writing songs instead of working all day,” said Shaffer, a podiatrist for 31 years. “Looks like 2013 is going to be my year.”