Texas man pleads guilty to fraud in lottery scandal case

Jan 11, 2017, 4:18 pm (11 comments)

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DES MOINES, Iowa — A Texas businessman has pleaded guilty to fraud and admitted to helping lottery computer technician Eddie Tipton cash jackpots in a multi-state number-fixing scheme that netted $2 million.

Robert Rhodes pleaded guilty in a Des Moines courtroom Monday. Iowa prosecutors will seek two years of probation.

Rhodes says he helped Tipton try to cash a $16.5 million 2010 Iowa Hot Lotto ticket but suspicious officials never paid.

Rhodes agreed to testify against Tipton and his brother, Tommy Tipton. They're charged in Iowa for tinkering with computers to make lottery numbers predictable in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin games. They deny the charges.

Rhodes says he'll also plead guilty in Wisconsin where he'll likely get six months in jail and a requirement to repay $391,500, half of a 2007 Megabucks jackpot.

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

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

News story photo(Click to display full-size in gallery)

AP, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

EdG1955

No honor among Lottery thieves.

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

Skeptical  hmmmph

String them all up by thar toes

temptustoo's avatartemptustoo

what a bunch of bull.............  got away with hardly a slap on the hand..  our laws suck for lottery crooks.

lejardin's avatarlejardin

Tipton brothers are pleading not guilty and Robert Rhodes who helped Tipton collect on the winnings is going to testify against Tipton.   Hmmmmmm wonder who is lying?  Lurking

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Mad

They couldn't be happy having a good job ............

noise-gate

It's all about saving one's own skin by making a deal. In other words being prepared to fall on one's own sword if need be . Another Robert that can't be trusted. 

Seattlejohn

What a bunch of ham-fisted morons.  I'm not even slightly larcenous, and I bet I could come up with a better cash-in scheme than what these idiots tried; I particularly enjoyed the attorney claiming to lottery officials that "we'll give all the money to charity" if they'd only approve the claim...

DELotteryPlyr's avatarDELotteryPlyr

Quote: Originally posted by dpoly1 on Jan 11, 2017

Mad

They couldn't be happy having a good job ............

I Agree! 100%...

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Robert Rhodes sure did get sued for a few different things during these past 12 years! Dupe Alert

rca1952

PatriotAll of this scandal B/S would end if they would bring back the numbered balls!!!

dallascowboyfan's avatardallascowboyfan

Bunch of thugs the judicial system is a freaking joke.

End of comments
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