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Former lottery security employee guilty of rigging $14.3M drawingNews Story
Jurors convicted a former Iowa lottery security official of two counts of fraud Monday for rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win $14.3 million. The jury's verdict came after three days of witness testimony last week in the case against Eddie Tipton, 52, who faces up to 10 years in prison. It's believed to be the first prosecution of a person accused of tampering with lottery equipment to manipulate a draw. Tipton stared straight ahead with his hands folded as the verdict was read, showing no
Jul 20, 2015, 2:21 pm - Lottery News

Hot Lotto case moves to jury for deliberationsNews Story
Attorneys gave their closing arguments Friday in the fraud case against a former lottery vendor employee accused of manipulating a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. Eddie Tipton, 52, is being tried on two counts of fraud. He has been accused of buying the winning Hot Lotto ticket at a Des Moines QuikTrip on Dec. 23, 2010. Tipton was defined by Iowa law as a prohibited player in his former position as the information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, or
Jul 17, 2015, 8:53 pm - Lottery News

Defense quickly wraps up in Hot Lotto trialNews Story
Argues that store video does not show Tipton Includes video report The defense rested its case Thursday afternoon about an hour after starting to call witnesses in the trial of a man accused of rigging a Hot Lotto computerized lottery drawing. Eddie Tipton, 51, is charged with two counts of fraud. He was a lottery security worker who is charged with rigging a Hot Lotto game so he could win a $14.3 million jackpot. This morning a worker at the multi-state lottery spoke of Eddie Ti
Jul 16, 2015, 7:25 pm - Lottery News

Prosecution rests in Hot Lotto trialNews Story
The defense began calling witnesses Thursday morning in the trial against a former lottery vendor employee accused of rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. Eddie Tipton, 52, is being tried on two counts of fraud. Tipton has been accused of purchasing the winning ticket at a Des Moines QuikTrip on Dec. 23, 2010. In his former position as the information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, Tipton was barred by Iowa law from buying a lottery ticket.
Jul 16, 2015, 3:35 pm - Lottery News

Lottery security chief: Rigging computerized game "sadly" possibleNews Story
Lottery Post alerted the industry to this possibility 11 years ago The top threat to any lottery's integrity is its own information technology employees, a former lottery security chief told jurors in the trial for his coworker accused of rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. Ed Stefan, a former chief security officer for the Multi-State Lottery organization, testified Wednesday that it's sadly possible his friend and former coworker, Eddie Tipton, installed a maliciou
Jul 15, 2015, 6:23 pm - Lottery News

Trial underway in world's biggest lottery fraud caseNews Story
Includes video report The first witnesses, including the lottery's vice president of security, took the stand Tuesday after opening statements in the trial of a former lottery worker charged in the Hot Lotto mystery winner case. The trial for Eddie Tipton is being held in a Polk County courtroom. Tipton, 51, is charged with two counts of fraud. Tuesday afternoon, Steve Bogle, Iowa Lottery vice president for security, took the witness stand and talked about why people hired by the lot
Jul 14, 2015, 8:35 pm - Lottery News

Lottery ticket thief gets prison term shortenedNews Story
An appeals court shortened the prison term for lottery-ticket thief Andy Ashkar by at least three-and-a-half years, reducing a sentence imposed by a judge because it was unduly harsh and severe. In a decision filed on Friday, the Supreme Court Appellate Division's Fourth Judicial Department shortened Ashkar's total sentence to between five and 15 years, the amount requested by Assistant District Attorney Beth Van Doren in 2013. Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph E. Fahey, offended by the
Jul 14, 2015, 8:06 am - Lottery News

Extradition trial begins this week in $16.5M Hot Lotto fraud caseNews Story
Legal wheels turning after rigged Hot Lotto drawing uncovered After months of investigation and legal wrangling, legal actions against two men accused of rigging a multi-state Hot Lotto computerized drawing are proceeding. When Sugar Land, Texas, resident Robert C. Rhodes endorsed Eddie Tipton on the professional networking website LinkedIn, he deemed his friend and former business partner as someone very focused on the bottom line and someone he would work with again in a second. The
Jun 7, 2015, 9:00 am - Lottery News

Florida Supreme Court orders new trial in $1M lottery disputeNews Story
Howard Browning is a guy who does not give up. In 2008, he sued his live-in sweetheart, a Seminole County schoolteacher, after she refused to give him half of the $1 million lottery jackpot she won. They had a deal, he insisted, although it was unwritten: If he won the lottery, he'd give her half and if she won, she'd give him half. A judge in Sanford threw out his case in 2012 after a jury had begun to hear evidence, and an appeals court later agreed. But on Thursday, the Florida Supre
May 29, 2015, 11:18 am - Lottery News

Court rules grandmother, 90, will receive $1.85 instead of $41M jackpotNews Story
As a 90-year-old grandmother, Pauline McKee tries to maintain a sweet disposition. When she played a penny slot machine that told her she had won more than $41 million, the Antioch woman remained pretty calm. That was nice, she said, recalling her reaction. Very nice. And when she learned on Friday that the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the casino does not have to pay her the big bucks, McKee took it stoically. Instead, she won a mere $1.85 on the bet. I had my doubts from the start, be
Apr 26, 2015, 10:32 am - Lottery News