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Wardens probed over Kenyan prisoners' lottery scamNews Story
Kenya's prison officers are at the center of an investigation over their involvement in a SMS (Short Message Service) syndicate that defrauded the public through nonexistent lotteries. Last weekend, 350 mobile phones and 400 unused SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards were uncovered after a search of prisoners' blocks at the Kamiti Maximum Prison, and an earlier search at the Naivasha Prison uncovered 270 phones. Officers also found a register bearing the names of potential targets. The
Jul 15, 2008, 9:15 pm - Lottery News

Two men arrested in Russia for running Western-style pyramid schemeNews Story
250,000 people defrauded of US$765 million Two men were arrested in Moscow, Russia, on Monday on charges of setting up a pyramid scheme that defrauded around 250,000 people of 18 billion rubles ($765 million), the Interior Ministry said. Two organizers of the criminal group have been detained Sokolov and Dzhasybaeva, who operated under the firms names Region-Center, Garant Invest, and Garant Kredit. They have been brought to Tatarstan [in the Volga area] for investigation proceedings, a m
Jun 10, 2008, 6:43 pm - Lottery News

Two arrested for buying lottery tickets with fake moneyNews Story
New York State Police have charged two men who are on parole in connection with the passage of phony $20 bills for lottery tickets. Sean Boyle, 21, of Walden, was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree, a felony, and Christopher Zaorski, 36, of Goshen, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree and petit larceny, both misdemeanors. The arrests were the result of a two-month investigation by State Police at Middletown and
Jun 4, 2008, 11:29 am - Lottery News

Yahoo files suit against 'lottery' spammersNews Story
Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against Yahoo Lottery spammers. The Sunnyvale-based company said the spammers send out e-mail messages trying to make people believe they've won a lottery or prize offered by Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO). The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City under the Federal Trademark Act, the Federal CAN-SPAM Act and related state laws. Yahoo said it does not offer any such awards and has no affil
May 27, 2008, 10:33 am - Lottery News

Lawsuit claims NY state is ripping off lottery customersNews Story
A lawsuit claims the New York State Division of Lottery is tricking people into playing its Take Five lottery game by exaggerating the likelihood of winning. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, said people were cheated of more than $5 million. It seeks unspecified damages and an order putting a stop to what it portrayed as a rip-off. The plaintiff in the lawsuit was identified as M. McKee, a resident of Richmond County. The lawsuit called her an especial
May 6, 2008, 9:54 am - Lottery News

Lottery winner facing tax fraud trial diesNews Story
Editor's Note: A less in-depth news story about this lottery winner was posted earlier today: $13 million Florida Lotto winner dies a pauper Former lottery multi-millionaire Alex Toth, who was broke and facing tax fraud charges, has died at the age of 60. Toth was scheduled to go on trial in June, accused of filing fake tax returns with his wife, Rhoda, who has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. By the time the couple were charged in 2006, authorities said they appeared to have
Apr 25, 2008, 7:11 pm - Lottery News

Man caught stealing from charity lotteryNews Story
The boss of a charity lottery has been jailed for pocketing thousands of pounds and taking his family on the dream holiday which was supposed to be the grand prize. Millionaire Leigh Windsor, aged 46, stole $550,000 from two air ambulance charities and picked phantom winners from the phone book after rigging the draws. He skimmed off the first three months of payments from thousands of customers who joined up because they believed they were supporting charity. Windsor took his family
Apr 8, 2008, 9:45 am - Lottery News

Ontario Lottery forced to publicize internal probe into 'insider win'News Story
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has violated the public trust and can't justify hiding documents about its internal probe into a $21.5 million win by a Cambridge convenience store owner, the province's privacy commission has ruled. The lottery corporation has until May 9 to release documents related to the probe under a Freedom of Information request filed and appealed by the CBC, assistant commissioner Brian Beamish ruled Friday. The public must remain vigilant. This information is
Apr 8, 2008, 7:26 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery requires winners to sign ticketsNews Story
On the heels of a similar announcement from the Ontario Lottery, the Iowa Lottery has imposed a new rule aimed at reducing the possibility of retailer fraud. Starting March 15, 2008, Iowa retailers will only be able to check and cash lottery tickets if they have first been signed by the ticketholder. The lottery also reinforced that players are responsible for the accuracy of their tickets before leaving the store, and for determining if their ticket is a winner. Under current rules, re
Mar 10, 2008, 10:24 am - Lottery News

Stolen lottery money returned to real winnersNews Story
Four school board employees, allegedly cheated out of their winning lottery ticket by a retailer who claimed the prize money as his own, received a check for $5.7 million plus interest Wednesday from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. The check came as Ontario Provincial Police announced they had charged Hafiz Malik, a 60-year-old former convenience store owner with theft and fraud following an investigation into insider wins at the OLG. Police allege Malik, who was release
Dec 21, 2007, 12:06 pm - Lottery News