Authorities are investigating a former employee of the Texas Lottery Commission who illegally had the personal information of some employees, lottery winners and retailers stored on a home computer.

The criminal investigation, which started about three weeks ago, involves the Texas comptroller's office and the Travis County district attorney's office, lottery spokesman Bobby Heith said.

He declined to give other details, saying he didn't want to jeopardize the investigation. The employee at one point worked at the Texas comptroller's office, which is why that agency is involved.

Lottery winners and other employees are being notified, some just this week, about the fact that their personal information — which includes driver's license and Social Security numbers — could be compromised.

Mr. Heith declined to say how many people might be affected or how long the commission had known about the incident before they started notifying people.

A news release by the agency Thursday said "certain TLC employees, certain licensed retailers, and certain prize winners" could be affected.

A Texas Lottery watchdog began hearing from lottery commission employees Wednesday after a staff meeting in which employees were told of the incident and warned to check their credit reports to see whether their information had been used.

The commission issued its public statement the following afternoon.

Assistant District Attorney Beverly Matthews said the Travis County district attorney started its investigation about three weeks ago.