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Jamaican lottery scam ringleader pleads guiltyNews Story
A Jamaican man accused of masterminding a lottery scam that defrauded dozens of mostly elderly Americans out of millions of dollars has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and a federal prosecutor says more defendants in the case might do the same. Lavrick Willocks, 28, reached an agreement with federal prosecutors in North Dakota earlier this month and appeared in court Thursday to enter his plea. Prosecutors dropped 65 other counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. Willocks faces
Jul 28, 2017, 10:25 am - Lottery News

Washington Lottery to shut down if lawmakers can't agree on budgetNews Story
Winners will be unable to claim prizes during shutdown Washington's Lottery will suspend all operations if lawmakers can't pass the state's operating budget by midnight on Friday, June 30, 2017. That means no Lottery tickets will be sold, and no winning tickets will be redeemed in the state of Washington for any game until the shutdown is over. This includes Scratch games, jackpot games and multi-state jackpot games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. Washington's Lottery will also
Jun 30, 2017, 8:01 am - Lottery News

Illinois lottery players may lose Powerball and Mega Millions at the end of JuneNews Story
Legislation's refusal to deliver balanced budget threatens to cut off popular multi-state games The association that runs the popular Powerball lottery and Mega Millions games will drop Illinois at the end of June without a budget agreement. Concern over the state of Illinois' fiscal condition prompted that decision by the Multi-State Lottery Association, according to internal Illinois Lottery communications. Illinois Lottery spokesman Jason Schaumburg on Thursday morning confirmed that
Jun 15, 2017, 3:52 pm - Lottery News

Mastermind of lottery fraud will explain how he rigged jackpotsNews Story
Lottery Post's warning to the lottery industry about computerized drawings, issued more than a decade ago, is about to be confirmed as fact by Eddie Tipton, a former Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) security director. A lottery programmer will tell investigators how he was able to use his position to rig state jackpots for years and he and his brother will repay $3 million in prizes they improperly claimed, under a plea agreement released Monday. Prosecutors will seek a 25-year priso
Jun 12, 2017, 9:21 pm - Lottery News

New interim CEO named at CT LotteryNews Story
A day after Frank Farricker resigned as Connecticut Lottery Corp. board chairman and interim CEO, the lottery's governing board named a new temporary chief executive to serve until a permanent president/CEO is hired in a month or two at the end of a national search that's now in progress. At a meeting Tuesday afternoon in lottery headquarters, the board appointed Chelsea Turner, the lottery's chief of strategy and government and operational affairs, to replace Farricker, until a committee of
May 16, 2017, 6:39 pm - Lottery News

Turmoil: Connecticut Lottery interim CEO quitsNews Story
Frank Farricker, the Connecticut Lottery Corp.'s board chairman and interim CEO, resigned from both unpaid but influential positions Monday after drawing heavy criticism during a legislative inquiry into lottery officials' handling of the fraud-plagued 5 Card Cash lottery game. Saying that he hopes to help the lottery agency by ceasing any further distractions, Farricker wrote to the quasi-public agency's general counsel, Matthew Stone, and said he was quitting immediately. I am proud to
May 15, 2017, 7:09 pm - Lottery News

Best friend to testify against Tipton at July lottery rigging trialNews Story
It took Texas businessman Robert Rhodes more than a year to turn against his good old boy best friend after he realized that Eddie Tipton would not do a deal and tell prosecutors about how he had created an elaborate system to rig lotteries in five states. But despite fear for his safety, Rhodes is poised to give testimony at a trial scheduled for July 10 in Des Moines that prosecutors hope will finally put Tipton behind bars a decade after launching a scheme that netted $2 million in jackpot
Mar 31, 2017, 7:48 am - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery private manager still on job after firingNews Story
Finding a new lottery manager proves tricky for state government When Illinois lawmakers voted in 2009 to hire a private company to run the state's $2 billion-a-year lottery, they had high hopes of making more money that could be funneled into education and construction projects. Then the company missed sales goals, and two governors tried to fire Northstar Lottery Group. But Northstar remains on the job more than two years later, and the firm is now able to collect millions of dollars mor
Mar 28, 2017, 4:21 pm - Lottery News

Lawsuit alleges Illinois lottery contractor cheated players, vendorsNews Story
A company hired to manage the Illinois Lottery cheated players and lottery vendors by misrepresenting the odds of winning scratch-off games, a class-action lawsuit in federal court alleges. The case, originally filed last month in St. Clair County Court, was removed last week to federal court in the Southern District of Illinois. The lead plaintiffs are Raqqa Inc., which operates Fairview Lounge, a bar, convenience mart and gas station at 10610 Lincoln Trail in Fairview Heights; and Michael C
Mar 13, 2017, 8:07 am - Lottery News

Judge rules NJ couple's lottery annuity payments can't be taxed retroactivelyNews Story
A New Jersey Tax Court judge has sided with a couple who won $46 million in the state lottery in 2000 and elected to have their winnings distributed in annual installments as a multiyear annuity payment, holding that the state did not have the right to retroactively tax their winnings after passing a new statute. Plaintiffs Melvin Milligan and Kim Lawton-Milligan, who won the Big Game Lottery jackpot drawing in 2000, opted for 26 annual payouts of $1.77 million. They argued that the 2009 sta
Oct 14, 2016, 9:33 am - Lottery News