$7.5 million winner says he would have won more were it not for $95 million jackpot buyout
By Kate Northrop
The winner of a $7.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot is suing the group that bought nearly every single number combination to win $95 million because he asserts his prize would have been worth more than $100 million had a London-based betting company not orchestrated the scheme.
Among the current litigations related to a $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot buyout is a new lawsuit filed by a lottery winner who claims his prize should have been greater than $100 million.
Had a group known as Rook TX not spent almost $26 million to buy nearly every number combination in a Lotto Texas drawing to win the then-$95 million jackpot, lottery winner Jerry Reed argues, his $7.5 million prize should have included that $95 million since it would have rolled over into the drawing he won.
"Had the defendants not engaged in their illegal money laundering and game-rigging scheme connected to the April 22nd draw, the $95 million jackpot would have rolled over, as there were no other winners," Reed's lawsuit states. "Consequently, Jerry Reed's May 17th jackpot win would have been $102.5 million instead of $7.5 million."
In April 2023, a group known as Rook TX spent almost $26 million on nearly every number combination and won the game's then-$95 million jackpot. When a recent $83.5 million jackpot won with a ticket purchased through a lottery courier in February, it caused a domino effect of intense scrutiny from legislators and accusations of fraud and money laundering against the Lottery.
Since then, state authorities have launched multiple investigations into the jackpot wins and the Texas Lottery's relationship with lottery courier companies.
The winner of the $83.5 million jackpot was denied payout after presenting her winning ticket, the reason being that the state needs to complete its investigations. Once they wrap up, there's still the question of whether her prize will be paid out at all.
Randy Howry, the winner's lawyer, has declared that they are prepared to take legal action against the Texas Lottery Commission, Jackpocket, Winner's Corner, Draft Kings, and any other "responsible parties" if necessary, Howry told Lottery Post.
Reed's lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, is the latest set of allegations against Rook TX, and four lottery retailers involved in the jackpot buyout: Lottery.com, Lottery Now, Inc., ALTX Management, LLC, and Qawi and Quddus, Inc. It also names Matthew Clemenson, Ryan Dickinson, and Lawrence Anthony DiMatteo III as defendants, the founders of the respective couriers.
The lawsuit accuses the four lottery retailers of working with a sports gambling company, Colossus Bets, to orchestrate the buyout. The company and Lottery.com, along with its founders, reached out to the other three named retailers for help in automating the massive ticket printing endeavor, which required speed and efficiency to mass-purchase 2.58 million tickets within 72 hours.
According to documents, the retailers "used custom-designed software, loaded onto smartphones, to generate a system of counterfeit QR codes that tricked the state-approved Texas Lottery terminals into recognizing the codes as if they had been generated by the Texas Lottery Commission's authorized mobile app."
Reed also makes a case that Colossus Bets created Rook TX as a way to "hide the identity of the company and individuals who received the proceeds of the illegal game-rigging scheme," and that Rook TX fraudulently misrepresented itself when filing a official claim with the Lottery.
The New Jersey-based attorney representing Rook TX, Glenn Gelband, traveled to Texas to present the winning ticket. He declared on the Texas Lottery Winner Claim Form that the entity was created on March 1, 2023, but a search in the State of Delaware's Division of Corporations database reveals that it was not formed until June 15, 2023.
The defendants broke Texas law by "intentionally or knowingly claiming a lottery prize or share of a prize by means of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation," Reed's lawsuit states.
Reed is seeking the recovery of the winnings in the form of "funds fraudulently and illegally obtained" by the named defendants.
Remember that big fat slob, Eddie Tipton of the Hot Lotto scandal, the individual who got short-changed, sued and MUSL settled for an undisclosed amount. This case has a good chance of getting settled for an undisclosed amount but definitely not for $100M. The Lottery loves ❤️ its money and will fight very hard not to pay at all.
The "plot" thickens....
Lots of lottery chaos happening in Texas these days. If they were to ask my advice, I would coach them to make their top priority getting the Texas legislature on the same page as the lottery. Any daylight between the legislature and the lottery breeds more chaos. Work out policies that don't capitulate to the nitwits who want to ban everything (including the lottery itself). There is too much at stake to allow the chaos to continue unchecked.
* As Don King used to say " Only in America!
* Happy Friday to all- now go out & win something.
* Happy Friday to all- now go out & win something
I will heed your advice.
I have my one MM ticket for today's draw and will buy my PB ticket for tomorrows draw.
I hope to win something 🤞
I think this guy is out of luck here and has no cause of action. Courier services were not illegal and he did not allege any actual provable fraud. There was no money laundering by using a courier. Lol. Bizarre allegation. Very different than the Tipton situation with a lottery employee. And any law or policy that is unclear will not make this a winning case. It is also too remote and involves different drawings. He is trying to show "but for" causation which is very difficult to prove. This is not a tort or criminal action.
What am I missing? They are allowed to buy the ticket even if it cost them 26M since there is no rule saying otherwise.
Exactly. Texas (all involved entities) needs to pay the prior winner that used a courier service and get their own internal debate and investigation done with and make some decisions going forward. They are all looking like a disorganized mess.
My thought about the lawsuit (the one filed by the winner of $7.5 million jackpot who's claiming that it should have been $102.5 million) is, is what the London based company did legal? That's the sole question at hand; if it's legal, then he doesn't have a leg to stand on. If it's not, then he's got a great case. Either way, dude just made generational wealth, so there's really no way he doesn't end up a winner... unless he acts like all those lottery winners who spent his money on stupid stuff really quick, that is...
You mean this guy?
Destiny did not have a prize of more than $100 million scheduled for the winner of the $7.5 million Lotto Texas.
Although the assignment of numbers on a ticket is purely a mathematical process, winning on the other hand and more often than not, impels other subjective and indeterminable factors such as the energy levels and mindset of the players and Yes - the hands of the Gods.
The internal operations of the lottery is based on mathematics - in more specific terms - the permutations of numbers and the lottery's calculations that a dollar and a dream is a steep hill to scale.
The Brits defeated the Texas Lottery purely on mathematics and a $26 million dollar pot.
Because there are no laws that can be invoked in all fairness to determine the levels of these other subjective factors that are necessary to win, no rational court can exercise jurisdiction where the laws are absent.
The Texas $7.5 million winner should be contended with his win - it is still a lot of money even after all taxes.