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Court rejects Colorado man's claim to full $4.8M lottery jackpot he unwittingly split with scammersNews Story
Even though Amir Massihzadeh of Boulder, Colorado, was the only legitimate winner of a Colorado Lotto jackpot worth $4.8 million in 2005, he's not eligible to claim the full winnings, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in a decision released Thursday. Massihzadeh, one of three ticket holders to win that jackpot, accepted his prize of $568,990, after taxes. But 10 years later, a criminal investigation exposed a scheme to rig lotteries across state lines, and officials determined the other two
Jun 21, 2019, 8:39 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts man pleads guilty in lottery tax fraud schemeNews Story
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in a scheme to buy millions of dollars' worth of winning Massachusetts State Lottery tickets at a discount to help the ticket holders avoid taxes, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Clarance Jones, 80, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arrested last fall and charged with tax fraud and filing false tax returns. Law enforcement authorities alleged he used a 10-percenting ploy to become the nation's top lottery winner. Under th
May 22, 2019, 6:25 pm - Lottery News

Lottery winner can seek bigger prize at trial, judge rulesNews Story
Lucky Larry may have a shot to win millions more this time from a jury. A judge has ordered a trial in a lawsuit filed by Iowa lottery winner Larry Dawson, who contends a $9 million jackpot that he won in 2011 should have been nearly three times as big. Dawson filed his lawsuit in 2016 after an investigation revealed that lottery contractor Eddie Tipton rigged the previous $16.5 million jackpot, bought the winning ticket himself and unsuccessfully worked with associates to claim it. Da
May 17, 2019, 12:01 pm - Lottery News

Lottery-scamming brothers avoid asset seizures by transferring property to their motherNews Story
By Jason Clayworth Two brothers who were behind the largest lottery scam in U.S. history and owe more than $2.3 million in unpaid restitution and court fees recently transferred several properties they owned to their mother. The transfers from Eddie and Tommy Tipton have raised further questions about why four states Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Colorado have yet to seize their properties. It has been about two years since the brothers admitted their role in a scam that hijacked lott
Apr 29, 2019, 9:50 pm - Lottery News

GOP bill would keep Wisconsin lottery winners secretNews Story
Two Republican lawmakers are introducing a bill that would allow lottery winners in Wisconsin to remain anonymous. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Rep. Gary Tauchen announced the bill Tuesday, about 40 minutes after Manuel Franco of West Allis appeared a Madison news conference to reveal he had won a $768 million Powerball jackpot, the third largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. Current state law doesn't allow lottery winners to remain anonymous. Tauchen said in a news release announcing
Apr 24, 2019, 2:28 pm - Lottery News

Arizona becomes latest state to shield lottery winners' namesNews Story
Arizona joined a growing number of states allowing winners of big lottery jackpots to stay anonymous Wednesday after Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation letting winners of jackpots of $100,000 or more request that their names not be made public. The move comes as privacy concerns are increasingly trumping lottery groups' wishes to publicize winners to boost sales and show that the games are fair. Four years ago, just five states allowed anonymous winners, but the number has now g
Apr 18, 2019, 8:51 am - Lottery News

Colorado man who unwittingly split a $4.8M jackpot with scammer is fighting the Colorado LotteryNews Story
In 2005, three people won a Colorado Lotto jackpot worth $4.8 million, and Boulder's Amir Massihzadeh held one set of winning numbers. He accepted his prize of $568,990 after splitting the pot and paying taxes and moved on with life. Ten years later, Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents visited Massihzadeh to interview him about his winning number because they were investigating a criminal scheme to rig lotteries. They suspected the other two ticket-holders who split the prize with Mass
Apr 15, 2019, 10:14 am - Lottery News

Growing number of states move to shield lottery winnersNews Story
A growing number of states are moving to allow the winners of big lottery jackpots to stay anonymous as privacy concerns are increasingly trumping lottery groups' wishes to publicize winners to boost sales and show that the games are fair. Arizona could be the next state to join at least nine others with laws that let winners keep their names secret under a proposal headed to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. Four years ago, just five states allowed anonymous winners, and a handful of others allowe
Apr 14, 2019, 8:26 am - Lottery News

Audit of California Lottery finds over $305,000 in improper or dubious spendingNews Story
California Lottery officials tallied more than $305,000 in improper or questionable spending over the last four years that included travel, food, gifts to employees and entertainment expenses, a state audit concluded Tuesday. Among the improper expenses, the lottery agency spent $21,666 to give staff logo-branded swag such as T-shirts, backpacks, lip balm and iPad cases, labeling the purchases learning aids and training tools, according to the audit by state Controller Betty Yee. The finan
Apr 11, 2019, 9:32 am - Lottery News

Florida Lottery will go offline for systems upgrade on April 15News Story
Florida Lottery officials say they don't anticipate problems as a multimillion-dollar upgrade of a vending system goes into place this month. But rather than press their luck, players are urged to buy earlier than normal as the new system is expected to require the main office to go offline for several hours April 15. The vast majority of the upgrade will occur overnight on the 15th, causing minimal inconvenience, lottery spokeswoman Keri Nucatola said. Still, we are encouraging our frequ
Apr 1, 2019, 4:48 pm - Lottery News