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Lottery rigging accomplice used Wisconsin payout for offshore tax scamNews Story
After Robert Rhodes collected a Wisconsin Lottery jackpot that had been rigged by his friend Eddie Tipton, he used the windfall for an investment scheme that produced another wave of undeserved government money, court records show. Rhodes, an accomplice in a scandal that has shaken state lotteries, recently explained under oath how he used the $783,000 payout to receive an additional $180,000 in bogus tax refunds. The Texas businessman sent his lottery winnings offshore to buy a phony insuran
Jul 6, 2017, 6:53 pm - Lottery News

Bahamas 'web shop' accused of failing to pay winnersNews Story
Says Iowa and Indiana lotteries 'teamed up' on them Irate patrons of Paradise Games, a Bahamas web shop, yesterday vowed to take their business elsewhere amid accusations the gaming house has refused to reward tens of thousands of dollars in winnings. The customers, on the request of anonymity, allege after playing numbers and winning nearly $60,000 on one ticket and another $32,000 on an additional ticket in the 'Early Iowa' game, they were given the run around by Paradise Games and ultim
Jul 6, 2017, 11:04 am - Lottery News

IT'S OFFICIAL: Tipton pleads guilty to rigging computerized lottery drawingsNews Story
The cyber security expert and brainpower behind a lottery rigging scandal that netted $2 million in illegal winnings from five state lotteries pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of ongoing criminal conduct charge. For the first time in an Iowa courtroom, Eddie Tipton admitted to playing a central role in the rigging scheme after more than two years of adamant denials in the face of mounting evidence against him. Pursuant a plea agreement, Tipton, 54, now faces spending up to 25 yea
Jun 29, 2017, 10:52 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery promises to work harder to stop cheatersNews Story
Iowa Lottery officials pledged Tuesday to tighten security of lottery tickets and bolster efforts to obtain restitution from persons convicted of lottery-related crimes. The officials detailed their plans at a meeting of the Iowa Lottery Board in Clive, where they responded to allegations that security problems persist in the state-run lottery because of a failure to fix weaknesses spotted years earlier. A recent investigation detailed cases of Iowa retail employees stealing lottery ticke
Jun 28, 2017, 8:26 am - Lottery News

Lottery jackpot rigger's Iowa convictions dismissedNews Story
Has little practical impact on case The Iowa Supreme Court has dismissed the conviction of an Iowa man who just last week pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related with rigging lottery computers in order to win jackpots. The court issued a ruling Friday dismissing Eddie Tipton's conviction for tampering with lottery equipment. The ruling said the statute of limitations on one of the counts against him had expired and improper instructions given on the other count could have influe
Jun 23, 2017, 11:36 am - Lottery News

The 5 lottery jackpots Tipton and his friends stoleNews Story
Eddie Tipton, the now-infamous former security chief at the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), is accused of installing software on Random Number Generators that allowed him to predict winning combinations for drawings that occurred on three dates every non-leap year Nov. 23, Dec. 29 and May 27. So far, Tipton and his associates have been linked to winning tickets in five states between 2005 and 2011. Here are the details: Colorado, Nov. 23, 2005: Tipton's brother Tommy Tipton, a Tex
Jun 20, 2017, 8:01 am - Lottery News

FBI missed rigged jackpot in 2006 before lottery scheme grewNews Story
Investigators were suspicious in 2006 when they heard that a rural Texas judge was trying to exchange $450,000 in consecutively marked bills. But Tommy Tipton, a Fayette County magistrate, told the FBI that his actions were innocent, if odd: He won the Colorado lottery but couldn't tell his wife because gambling was against their Christian faith. The FBI accepted the story and dropped its inquiry of Tipton, who soon bought a new truck and more property around the town of Flatonia, 110 miles (
Jun 19, 2017, 8:51 am - Lottery News

Mastermind of lottery fraud will explain how he rigged jackpotsNews Story
Lottery Post's warning to the lottery industry about computerized drawings, issued more than a decade ago, is about to be confirmed as fact by Eddie Tipton, a former Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) security director. A lottery programmer will tell investigators how he was able to use his position to rig state jackpots for years and he and his brother will repay $3 million in prizes they improperly claimed, under a plea agreement released Monday. Prosecutors will seek a 25-year priso
Jun 12, 2017, 9:21 pm - Lottery News

N.Y. men arrested for redeeming winning lottery tickets for people in debtNews Story
Seven retailers suspended for colluding Two New Yorkers were tossed behind bars in the state's first-ever arrests of lottery scammers accused of secretly claiming winning tickets for people who owe child support, back taxes or other debts. Eduardo Moran-Barrera, 63, of the Bronx, claimed a total of 686 tickets worth a whopping $1.48 million in lottery winnings between 2012 and 2016, officials said. Neil Ferguson, 50, of Manhattan, raked in $273,139 after claiming 91 winning tickets over
Jun 10, 2017, 7:40 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery investigation highlights difficult balance between security and profitsNews Story
For more than a year while he worked at the Brick Street Market in Bondurant, Iowa, Matthew Hinrichs quietly stole lottery tickets, cashing in at least $28,000 in illegitimate prize money, prosecutors say. When he was finally caught in 2016, Hinrichs pleaded guilty to two felony counts of fraud and was ordered to pay back those winnings, plus nearly $5,000 more. Lottery officials say their layers of security allowed them to track Hinrichs' activity, providing data that was invaluable to pr
Jun 6, 2017, 2:48 pm - Lottery News