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Texas man pleads guilty to fraud in lottery scandal caseNews Story
A Texas businessman has pleaded guilty to fraud and admitted to helping lottery computer technician Eddie Tipton cash jackpots in a multi-state number-fixing scheme that netted $2 million. Robert Rhodes pleaded guilty in a Des Moines courtroom Monday. Iowa prosecutors will seek two years of probation. Rhodes says he helped Tipton try to cash a $16.5 million 2010 Iowa Hot Lotto ticket but suspicious officials never paid. Rhodes agreed to testify against Tipton and his brother, Tommy Tipt
Jan 11, 2017, 4:18 pm - Lottery News

Former MUSL official received severance amid lottery jackpot scandalNews Story
A prominent lottery official who was stripped of power after a subordinate allegedly carried out a prolonged jackpot-rigging scheme received a $284,000 severance payment, a recent tax filing shows. The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) made the payment to its longtime executive director Chuck Strutt as part of a voluntary termination agreement signed March 31, according to its 2016 tax return. The filing, released by the group in response to a request by The AP, also reveals that its leg
Jan 10, 2017, 10:04 pm - Lottery News

Mom, son admit they plotted to kill man over his winning lottery ticketNews Story
A New York man and his 49-year-old mother have pleaded guilty in the slaying of a man who was killed over a winning scratch-off lottery ticket. The Monroe County District Attorney's Office says 29-year-old James McCracken, of Rochester, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the slaying of 66-year-old Robert Pinckney. McCracken's mother, Jacqueline Staples, pleaded guilty to a robbery charge. Prosecutors say Staples was with Pinckney at his residence in September 2015 when she be
Jan 10, 2017, 9:59 pm - Lottery News

Trials for Tipton brothers charged in lottery scandal delayedNews Story
Trials for brothers charged with ongoing criminal conduct in Iowa for allegedly fixing lottery games to collect jackpots have been delayed. District Court Judge Bradley McCall entered an order Wednesday moving the trial for Eddie Tipton to July 10. His trial had been scheduled to begin Feb. 13. His brother, Tommy Tipton, a former Texas justice of the peace, was facing trial Jan. 23. His trial date was moved to Sept. 11. Attorneys for both sides agreed to the rescheduling. Eddie Tipto
Jan 8, 2017, 10:58 am - Lottery News

Florida store employee arrested for 'micro-scratching' lottery ticketsNews Story
Includes video report Authorities say a Florida convenience store clerk was cashing in by cheating, while selling customers worthless lottery tickets. Lottery officials say he got greedy and tried to cash in too many big winning lottery scratch-off tickets at the Tampa Lottery District Office. One major red flag was when he tried to claim a $500 winning scratch-off ticket that hadn't even been scratched. For more than a year, lottery officials believe an employee of a Radiant conveni
Jan 6, 2017, 9:10 am - Lottery News

Man files lawsuit over rigged lottery jackpotsNews Story
Hopes to achieve class action certification Hundreds of thousands of lottery players who were allegedly cheated by an insider's long-running scheme to rig jackpots should be reimbursed for their losing tickets, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday that seeks class action certification. Lawyers filed the consumer fraud case against the Multi-State Lottery Association, the Iowa-based nonprofit that helps administer games that are offered by state lotteries. It alleges the association faile
Jan 4, 2017, 8:56 pm - Lottery News

Philadelphia woman facing 53 charges for threatening PA LotteryNews Story
A woman who repeatedly aired her frustration at failing to win a jackpot by making obscene and violent threats against Pennsylvania Lottery headquarters faces 53 charges, police said Wednesday. Towanda Shields, 47, made dozens of calls over the past eight months to the agency's offices outside Harrisburg, police in Lower Swatara Township said. From the calls and stuff I've listened to, she's basically completely obsessed with the lottery and the fact that she doesn't win upsets her very m
Jan 4, 2017, 8:32 pm - Lottery News

Man arrested in lottery winner kidnappingNews Story
A Peoria man accused of kidnapping two men from Normal, Illinois, including one who died of a head injury suffered during the incident, demanded the victim's family pay a ransom from lottery winnings, Normal police said Friday. Danny Smith Jr. 28, is charged with kidnapping Maunds Bryant, 41, and his stepfather from their home in the 100 block of West Raab Road on Dec. 22. Smith remains in the Peoria County jail in lieu of $300,000 bond. Additional charges are under review by both Peoria a
Dec 30, 2016, 6:48 pm - Lottery News

Accused lottery rigger Eddie Tipton facing new Wisconsin chargesNews Story
A former Iowa lottery security official accused of rigging drawings to win prize money in several states is facing new felony charges in Wisconsin. A prosecutor in the Wisconsin Department of Justice filed a total of six charges against Eddie Tipton on Thursday, including one count of racketeering, a theft by fraud charge and four computers crimes charges. The charges stem from a suspect December 2007 Megabucks drawing in Wisconsin that allegedly won Tipton and a business associate a prize wo
Dec 22, 2016, 9:41 pm - Lottery News

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