Quick Links   You last visited July 5, 2022, 7:41 am All times shown are Eastern Time (GMT-5:00) | Prosecutors say 2 more men may be linked to lottery riggings Insider Buzz: Prosecutors say 2 more men may be linked to lottery riggingsRating:Prosecutors in the case of a former lottery insider convicted last year in a national Hot Lotto jackpot-rigging scandal are seeking to subpoena records from two attorneys they believe could be tied to the plot. Documents filed on Tuesday by the lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant Iowa Attorney General Rob Sand, seek to subpoena records from Texas attorneys J. Thad Whisenant and Luis Vallejo. Authorities assert that immediately after investigators attempted to interview Whisenant about the case, he contacted Vallejo, who prosecutors said in the court filing is connected through phone records to one of the men indicted in the scheme. All three men, Sand contends in the new court filings, are financially connected. He is seeking the bank records of Whisenant and Vallejo, and Vallejo's phone records. Whisenant and Vallejo did not immediately respond to phone and email requests Wednesday morning for comment on the new filings. State lotteries are a $70 billion industry in America, providing reliable revenues to dozens of U.S. states to pay for schools and other public projects. Yet, like the stock market, the entire U.S. lottery system is built on confidence: the belief among millions of Americans that despite astronomical odds there really is a chance for them to win the big one. Lottery IT Director Sought $14.3 Million Jackpot In 2015, Eddie Tipton, the former information technology security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, was convicted of two counts of fraud for rigging a 2010 computerized Hot Lotto game in an attempt to win a $14.3 million jackpot in Iowa, which lottery officials have described as one of the largest Hot Lotto jackpots ever claimed. Prosecutors said he injected a stealth software program into the lottery's central computer to generate pre-selected numbers that he then used to try and cash in the winning ticket. Tipton's attorney has argued that his conviction was based circumstantial evidence, and that authorities have never proven that his client actually injected the self-deleting software program. Tipton appealed his conviction and his subsequent ten year prison sentence, and earlier this year, an Iowa appeals court reversed part of the fraud convictions. The higher court upheld the conviction for rigging the lottery but dismissed a second fraud conviction related to Tipton's attempt to cash in the winning ticket. Earlier this month, lottery officials said that an internal investigation had determined that no other MUSL employees were involved in the Tipton plot. But since Tipton's trial and conviction, prosecutors have tied several other men, none of them lottery employees, to the alleged plot. 'An Invasion of Trust' Tipton's primary job as IT director was to safeguard the sanctity of the games and make sure nobody cheated. "This is about as large an invasion of trust as I can possibly imagine," the judge in the case told Tipton before issuing the sentence. The massive jackpot was withheld by lottery officials when they became suspicious after multiple representatives tried to cash in the ticket on behalf a mystery client, and an investigation was launched. After convenience store video of a man purchasing hot dogs and what was later determined to be the winning ticket lottery ticket was publicly released last year, one of Tipton's co-workers called authorities to claim that the man in the video is Tipton. Last fall, after new evidence emerged indicating that Tipton may have been involved in rigging lottery games in five more states, authorities charged him with ongoing criminal conduct. The probe expanded nationwide to include all 37 states that rely on MUSL for their randomly-generated lottery numbers. Tipton's younger brother Tommy, and a second man, Robert C. Rhodes II, have been indicted for allegedly taking part in the scheme. Tuesday's subpoena requests assert that Whisenant, Vallejo and Tommy Tipton "appear to be financially involved." The increasingly bizarre case has featured court filings allegedly tying three of the men under investigation to the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization, which searches for the possibly-mythical creature in southern U.S. states, and testimony from his brother that Eddie Tipton could not be the man in the video because, he said, "Eddie's not a hot dog guy." 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 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 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
- Lottery rigging trial to be moved out of Des Moines, Jun. 27, 2016
- Eddie Tipton's new trial delayed until 2017, Jul. 1, 2016
- Iowa court reverses part of Tipton's lottery fraud conviction, Jul. 28, 2016
- Internal investigation concludes Tipton acted alone to rig lottery drawings, Aug. 10, 2016
NBC, Lottery Post Staff
Green Bay United States Member #169383 October 15, 2015 2857 Posts Offline | I know they can recover fingerprints from paper. Did they try to find Tipton's fingerprints anywhere on that lottery ticket? Never give up.  | | |
Happyland United States Member #146338 September 1, 2013 1175 Posts Offline | "Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization" It's amazing that this link was uncovered with such an inconspicuously named company. I never would have caught it. If the chances of winning the jackpot are so slim, why play when the jackpot is so small? Your chances never change, but the potential payoff does. If a crystal ball showed you the future of the rest of your life, and in that future you will never win a jackpot, would you still play? P&L % = Total Win($)/Total Wager($) - 1 | | |
Marana AZ United States Member #145335 August 3, 2013 275 Posts Offline | "Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization" It's amazing that this link was uncovered with such an inconspicuously named company. I never would have caught it. Bigfoot was the real winner but he doesn't want to blow his anonymity by coming forward publicly to claim the prize. | | |
Fresno, California United States Member #157849 August 2, 2014 3959 Posts Offline | Bigfoot was the real winner but he doesn't want to blow his anonymity by coming forward publicly to claim the prize.  
"We are all in this together!" | | |
United States Member #72446 March 18, 2009 1391 Posts Offline | Bigfoot was the real winner but he doesn't want to blow his anonymity by coming forward publicly to claim the prize. , EdG1955 
Having several millions of dollars in my financial accounts means receiving several valuable services each day! 
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Maryland United States Member #162427 January 2, 2015 2794 Posts Offline | This could get interesting, if one of these guys 'flips' on Tipton and blows him in. That would be cool! | | |
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