New venue to be determined later
A new felony trial for a former Iowa lottery security official already convicted of scheming to win a $16.5 million jackpot will be moved out of Des Moines, a judge has ruled.
Eddie Tipton, formerly an information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, was convicted last year of two fraud counts stemming from an attempt to rig a 2010 Hot Lotto drawing and claim the winning ticket purchased at a Des Moines QuikTrip.
After his conviction, he was charged in Polk County District Court with new counts of ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering when authorities began investigating tainted drawings in several other states reportedly linked to Tipton.
Judge Bradley McCall ruled on Friday to move Tipton's new trial to a courthouse outside of central Iowa, citing defense lawyers' concerns about media coverage of the proceedings from The Des Moines Register, KCCI Channel 8 and WHO-TV. Tipton's attorneys pointed to almost 500 pages of news reports about the case that they argued would bias a jury pool against their client, including articles calling Tipton a "scammer."
"There is little question the pending case, and Tipton's prior trial, have received extensive media coverage, most notably in central Iowa," McCall wrote in his ruling. "As pointed out by Tipton, a significant number of articles published since Tipton's first trial have used less than neutral verbiage in describing the pending charges against Tipton."
A trial date and new venue will be picked at a later date, according to McCall's order.
Tipton's brother and a longtime friend are also facing felony charges in Iowa tied to the fraud investigation.
Timeline of the biggest crime in US lottery history
The following is a compilation of Lottery Post news coverage chronicling the Hot Lotto mystery and subsequently discovered crime.
We start the timeline with a news story indicating that only 3 months remained for the $16 million Hot Lotto jackpot to be claimed.
2011
- Deadline for claiming $16.5M Hot Lotto jackpot nears, Sep. 21, 2011
- Unclaimed Iowa lottery jackpot to expire Dec. 29, Dec. 1, 2011
- Iowa $16.5M Hot Lotto winner claims prize with two hours to spare, Dec. 29, 2011
2012
- Iowa Lottery security chief bent on determining identity of jackpot winner, Jan. 10, 2012
- NY lawyer in lottery mystery travels to Iowa this week, Jan. 17, 2012
- Iowa Lottery security chief to grill NY lawyer over Hot Lotto ticket, Jan. 17, 2012
- Representative of Hot Lotto winner named in lawsuit, Jan. 20, 2012
- Hot Lotto trust representative won't name winner, Jan. 20, 2012
- Iowa Lottery threatens to deny jackpot payout if winner stays anonymous, Jan. 23, 2012
- Lawyer gives up $14 million Iowa lottery ticket claim, Jan. 26, 2012
- $14.3 million Hot Lotto prize claim withdrawn, Jan. 27, 2012
- Iowa Legislators satisfied with Lottery's handling of mystery jackpot winner, Feb. 1, 2012
- Iowa Lottery to give away millions from jackpot mystery, Feb. 26, 2012
- Iowa Lottery director: 50-50 that Hot Lotto mystery will be solved, Aug. 9, 2012
- Iowa officials trying to solve lotto mystery, may release surveillance video, Aug. 19, 2012
2013
- 1 year later, Iowa Lottery still hunting for suspicious no-show winner, Jan. 30, 2013
- Inquiry in Iowa Lottery mystery touches Canada, Jul. 26, 2013
- Lottery jackpot probe heats up after immunity deal, Oct. 8, 2013
2014
- Iowa Lottery still hunting mystery Hot Lotto winner [video], Oct. 10, 2014
2015
- MUSL employee arrested in Hot Lotto jackpot mystery, Jan. 15, 2015
- BOMBSHELL: MUSL employee might have rigged Hot Lotto computerized drawing, Apr. 13, 2015
- Texas man charged in Iowa lottery case contests extradition, Apr. 20, 2015
- Extradition trial begins this week in $16.5M Hot Lotto fraud case, Jun. 7, 2015
- Inside the biggest lottery scam ever, Jul. 7, 2015
- Trial underway in world's biggest lottery fraud case, Jul. 14, 2015
- Lottery security chief: Rigging computerized game "sadly" possible, Jul. 15, 2015
- Prosecution rests in Hot Lotto trial, Jul. 16, 2015
- Defense quickly wraps up in Hot Lotto trial, Jul. 16, 2015
- Hot Lotto case moves to jury for deliberations, Jul. 17, 2015
- Former lottery security employee guilty of rigging $14.3M drawing, Jul. 20, 2015
- MUSL security worker who rigged drawing gets 10 years, Sep. 9, 2015
- HOT LOTTO DRAWING CHEAT CHARGED WITH RIGGING MORE JACKPOTS, Oct. 9, 2015
- Texas authorities had previously investigated brother of lottery cheat, Oct. 14, 2015
- Another $1.2M Hot Lotto jackpot rigged by Tipton, officials say, Nov. 21, 2015
- Jackpot-fixing investigation expands to more state lotteries, Dec. 18, 2015
- Prosecutors say Tipton rigged two jackpots he purchased tickets for in Kansas, Dec. 21, 2015
- Maine gives names of Hot Lotto winners to Iowa team looking into rigging scheme, Dec. 23, 2015
- S.C. Lottery assures public no computerized drawings used in state, Dec. 23, 2015
- Kansas lottery players questioning game's integrity, Dec. 23, 2015
- MUSL CHIEF OUSTED OVER JACKPOT-RIGGING SCANDAL, Dec. 23, 2015
- Lottery scandal unlikely to affect New Mexico, official says, Dec. 26, 2015
- Tipton granted delay in next trial until July, Dec. 29, 2015
2016
- Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich to answer lottery player questions live Monday evening, Jan. 11, 2016
- First lawsuit in state lottery-fixing scandal seeks millions, Feb. 4, 2016
- MUSL seeks to dismiss lawsuit over rigged jackpot, Apr. 1, 2016
- Lottery scammer's brother facing criminal charges, Apr. 6, 2016
- Investigators find Tipton's software code to rig computerized lottery drawings, Apr. 7, 2016
- Lottery rigging scandal prompts security audit in South Dakota, Apr. 13, 2016
- Preliminary hearing rescheduled for Tommy Tipton in lottery rigging case, Apr. 22, 2016
- Third suspect surrenders in national lottery rigging scandal, Apr. 28, 2016
- Lottery scam investigation comes to Tennessee, May 11, 2016
- Investigators find another friend of Tipton who cashed rigged lottery prize, May 11, 2016
- Convicted computerized drawing fraudster argues Iowa court appeal, Jun. 16, 2016
- US Senate panel demands info in lottery scandal, Jun. 22, 2016
Would be great if 12 members of LP forum could be on that jury. If you could pick 12 LPr's to be on that jury, who would they be? LOL
Sully16, and noise-gate. oh yeah maybe hearsetrax
Yea, Sully seems like she wouldn't take sht from anyone. noise-gate seems way to mellow and laid-back to send someone to prison. hearsetrax would be a good pick for jury foreman...Call him the hangman. LOL
maybe you like to be on the jury to
no it wouldn't workout you must judge by facts not feelings or hear say
What ever happened to our Tennessee LP member? He'd be an excellent juror. I would never make a good juror, I'd be prejudiced. I'd say if he wasn't arrested then he didn't do the crime and guilty as charged.
Yea I'd love to be on that jury. Hey Tipton, give me 500K and I'll say you're not guilty... If the Clintons can sell favors for money...Why can't I?
Mellow & laid back huh?- l would throw Pickone4me's a* in jail if l saw him throwing a cigarette butt on the ground in public.Come to think of it- the same would apply to that " Prince" guy who loves to cause all kinds of ridiculous mischief here. I would be pointing the finger at both. How's that for mellowness?
Wow. Sorry noise-gate. Thought all you Northern California guys were the same. Nice to know there's at least one man left in California.
I'm hoping you're just kidding around because possible jurist knowledge of the rigging from and TV and news coverage is why the trial is being moved.
No need for an apology- Not every Northern Californian is a pothead- Grateful dead fans notwithstanding.
"HE DID IT, FRY HIS A$$!!"
Guess that would get me thrown out real quick like.
LOL, I am sweet as a cream filled cupcake, who am I kidding ?, Tipton wouldn't stand a chance with me.
Welcome back helpmewin, are you going to start another thread where you post nothing but emoties?
You're right, I don't take no Sh*t from anybody.
But Sully, she is a secretary to a bank vice president and, when one does not know basic English grammar or spelling, lots and lots of emoticons must be used.
His defense attorney would have to try to exclude lottery players from the jury.
I had loaned a few hundred bucks to a (an oft-married) woman I used to date and when we broke up, I asked her for the money she owed me. She refused and defiantly told me to sue her. I informed her I had already spoken with a lawyer and I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes, but she was still adamant she wouldn't pay. I then told her not to worry, that the lawyer said I couldn't prove it ("That's right!" she practically screamed) and that it would cost me more to take her to court than the amount of money she owed. (a snicker from her on that) but it made her furious when I said I had told the lawyer all about her and he said he was fairly certain we couldn't find a jury in Texas that didn't have one of her ex-husbands on it.
Lol lol
lol
Your in box is full. Unlock it.lol
Oops just deleted some.
Just cause you clicked on that don't mean it was for you, it wasn't, Thanks for the Welcome back and yes i will use Similes every chance i can
What a big lie. Use "similies" ???????? Remember, Todd grew weary of all your posting of "similies" as we all did. I have yet to see you make a cohesive response to any post. Try some correct basic punctuation as well.