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Alleged lottery scandal conspirator to enter new pleaNews Story
A Texas businessman charged in Iowa's lottery rigging investigation is scheduled to enter a new plea often a signal that a plea agreement has been reached with prosecutors. Robert Clark Rhodes pleaded not guilty in May to a felony charge of ongoing criminal conduct stemming from his alleged participation in a 2011 scheme to cash in on a Hot Lotto ticket worth more than $14 million. Rhodes, 48, reportedly is a close friend to Eddie Tipton, a former security official at the Urbandale-based Mult
Nov 14, 2016, 8:35 pm - Lottery News

Powerball jackpot winner pleads out in stalking caseNews Story
A black sheep member of a prominent Marinette County, Wisconsin, family has opted for a plea deal on several felonies he piled up in the wake of winning a $31.4 million Powerball jackpot. Douglas P. Miron, 50, pleaded no contest to amended counts late last month, just as he was scheduled to begin a complicated trial Nov. 1 on a raft of charges from burglary and stalking to reckless endangerment and perjury. Because of Miron's family connections his father is former District Attorney Dan Mi
Nov 7, 2016, 7:00 pm - Lottery News

Charges dismissed against mother in lottery ticket schemeNews Story
Charges have been dismissed against one of three people charged with fraudulently claiming a lottery ticket prize. District Judge David Lester on Monday dismissed a charge of aiding and abetting theft of a lottery ticket or share against Sally Bosler. His ruling came after an oral motion from the state requesting the dismissal because, prosecutors said, insufficient evidence now exists to convict Bosler. Bosler, 42, her daughter Ashley Bosler and Ashley Bosler's boyfriend, Johnny Long Jr.,
Oct 18, 2016, 2:31 pm - Lottery News

Judge: winner's lawsuit in lottery-fixing case can continueNews Story
The winner of a $9 million state lottery jackpot can continue a lawsuit that contends he would have won millions more if the prior drawing had not been rigged by a rogue insider, an Iowa judge has ruled. District Court Judge Karen Romano rejected requests Wednesday to dismiss the case, which is the first filed against the Multi-State Lottery Association over a major jackpot-rigging scandal inside the organization. She ruled that the association and the Iowa Lottery are not immune from the
Oct 13, 2016, 7:01 pm - Lottery News

Illinois woman loses out on $50K lottery ticket after buying it with drug moneyNews Story
A woman who lived with a Decatur drug dealer ended up losing big time when she took a judicial gamble on winning back the proceeds of a $50,000 lottery ticket. The state of Illinois had initially seized the money as the ill-gotten gains of a ticket bought with drug money. But then a Macon County judge later ruled against the state and awarded the lottery cash to the woman, Tykisha Lofton. Now, in a decision filed Sept. 27, the three-judge Fourth District Appeals Court ruled unanimously to
Oct 7, 2016, 7:03 am - Lottery News

Candy Crush-type game for state lotteries debutsNews Story
A new puzzle game, Star Match, looks to inject new life into state lotteries. Available first in the state of Georgia, the gem-matching game puzzle think Bejeweled or Candy Crush lets players pay $2 per play for a chance to win up to $10,000. Publisher LottoInteractive, which released the game Friday (on Android, iOS and desktop computers), aims to attract smartphone gamers who perhaps don't play traditional scratch-and-match lottery games, as well as lottery junkies looking for the next b
Sep 19, 2016, 6:15 pm - Lottery News

Prosecutors say 2 more men may be linked to lottery riggingsNews Story
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 t
Aug 24, 2016, 6:21 pm - Lottery News

Trio charged in lottery ticket theft plead not guiltyNews Story
By Todd Northrop An Iowa woman, her boyfriend, and her mother have all plead not guilty to charges of stealing a winning scratch lottery ticket and working together to attempt to claim the prize. (See 3 charged in theft of $250,000 lottery ticket, Lottery Post, Aug. 5, 2016.) The boyfriend, Johnny Long Jr., Monday entered his written plea in Buena Vista County District Court to theft of a lottery ticket or share. The Sioux Rapids, Iowa, resident is 26 years old. His trial is set for Sep
Aug 16, 2016, 9:02 am - Lottery News

Internal investigation concludes Tipton acted alone to rig lottery drawingsNews Story
An internal investigation into a national jackpot-fixing scandal has concluded that a single former lottery employee was responsible for any drawings that were manipulated, but it failed to uncover proof of his guilt. The report for the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) found that the group's former security director, Eddie Tipton, worked independently to commit any fraud without help from current or former employees. But investigators also said they failed to determine how he pulled it
Aug 10, 2016, 9:40 pm - Lottery News

Iowa court reverses part of Tipton's lottery fraud convictionNews Story
An Iowa appeals court on Wednesday upheld a former lottery employee's conviction for rigging the computer system to generate the winning ticket in a $16 million jackpot, but reversed a conviction for attempting to cash in on the ticket. The conviction stems from Eddie Tipton's work for the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, or MSLA, which produces computers that generate random numbers for lotteries in multiple states. As an employee of the association, Tipton was barred from playing
Jul 28, 2016, 8:23 am - Lottery News