Search

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

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

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

Investigation finds lottery scamming Tipton brothers have repaid virtually nothingNews Story
By Jason Clayworth and Rachel Denny Clow Two brothers who spearheaded the biggest lottery scam in U.S. history have repaid less than $1,400 in restitution despite owning property worth nearly $2 million, a Des Moines Register and Corpus Christi Caller Times investigation has found. Between them, Eddie and Tommy Tipton have admitted rigging winning drawings in at least five states, including Iowa, worth a combined $24 million. But they have barely made a dent in the more than $2.4 millio
Dec 27, 2018, 8:52 am - Lottery News

Audit reveals 'questionable' Colorado Lottery winsNews Story
A handful of people seem to have been winning the Colorado Lottery a bit more often than the odds would dictate, raising the specter of possible wrongdoing, a state audit revealed Monday. That audit showed that some individuals, including one licensed Lottery retailer, have won several high-dollar prizes over the past three years, raising concerns with the Colorado Auditor's Office that something could be amiss. One person won $600 or more from the Lottery's Pick 3 game 47 times over a th
Sep 25, 2018, 9:16 am - Lottery News

Colorado man wins lottery for third time in 17 monthsNews Story
Includes video report A Colorado man has won the lottery for the third time in a year and half for a total of $1 million. The Colorado Lottery said a Colorado Springs man, identified only as Paul G., won a total of $1 million from three scratch tickets since March 2017. $750,000 of his winnings come from second-chance drawings. The Colorado Lottery said Paul won $250,000 on a Thrilling Crossword scratch ticket in March 2017, then on Aug. 14, 2018 he won $500,000 on a second chance drawi
Sep 5, 2018, 11:15 am - Lottery News

Uber driver wins $140,000 after passenger tips him with lottery ticketNews Story
A Colorado Uber driver received a tip from a passenger that eventually landed him $140,000. The man, identified as James P., said a rider gave him a $5 Super Special Ultimate Bingo Scratch ticket. He won $30 from that first ticket and used it to buy six more of the same kind. He told the lottery he kept winning small amounts and just kept rolling it over and over into more tickets. Eventually, it paid off. Six weeks later, he bought the winning ticket which earned him a $140,000 pri
Apr 30, 2018, 8:30 am - Lottery News

Man didn't realize he won nearly $2 million lottery until 5 months laterNews Story
Better late than never. One Colorado man didn't realize he won nearly $2 million after a drawing until he checked his ticket five months later. The Denver man told Colorado Lottery officials he bought a Lotto drawing ticket for Nov. 18, 2017, but didn't take it to a store to be checked until April 2018 because he prefers to wait until he has several tickets to scan at once. One of his scanned tickets prompted him to Claim at Lottery. I immediately logged into the mobile app and che
Apr 18, 2018, 1:20 pm - Lottery News

Woman's $3 million lottery ticket spent months in pile of losersNews Story
A Colorado woman whose months-old scratch-off lottery ticket was rejected when she tried to enter it into a second chance drawing discovered it was actually a $3 million winner. The Colorado Lottery said a woman named Linda told officials she bought the $45,000,000 Golden Jubilee ticket, a $50 Series game, from a Safeway store in Firestone in July. Linda scratched off the ticket and, thinking it wasn't a winner, put it into a pile with her other losing tickets to enter in Second-Chance dra
Nov 21, 2017, 8:29 am - Lottery News

Winner sues Colorado Lottery 12 years after rigged drawingNews Story
A decade after Colorado engineer Amir Massihzadeh hit the lottery, two state agents visited him with stunning news: He was likely the only legitimate winner of a $4.8 million jackpot he'd had to split three ways. They told the Boulder resident that the other two people who had won the 2005 drawing were linked to a conspiracy in which a lottery insider and several cohorts had rigged drawings in several states. Now Massihzadeh, 62, is suing for the rest of the winnings that he feels should have
Oct 5, 2017, 6:57 pm - Lottery News