them at this underpass on the way back to the facility only to pick it up after work. pretty crazy i guess. reporter: what tipped officials off was a tip from a lottery merchant who reported hale was buying scratch tickets with at first handfuls of coins and later bags full. prosecutors say between october and december of last year vincent hale purchased more than $28,000 worth and that since 2008 hale had some $63,000 in winnings. in court today hale indicated he d need a court-appointed attorney. now the two made a brief appearance in federal court here in alexandria today. the judge has given them until monday to try to find attorneys. if they are convicted, they could face up to five years in prison. live in alexandria, back to you. if they re convicted, what will happen with those lottery winnings and will they be allowed to keep them? reporter: that is the $64,000 question almost quite literally. it is alleged they collected some $63,800 in lottery winnings be