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Texas Couple Loses $14,000 In Lottery ScamNews Story
The Upshur County Sheriff's Department is the last place Thomas McRee, 77, expected to be Monday morning after Christmas. He was there to sort out the mess that has cost him more than all of his life savings.It all began last month with a letter to his wife, Barbara, from an Australian lottery company. It said they were the lucky winners of the Oz 6/45 lottery. Their share of the winnings: $800,000.Oz sent the McRees a check for more than $14,000 and then asked the couple to send almost that f
Dec 28, 2004, 9:45 am - Lottery News

Lottery riches are only one component of happinessNews Story
Let's cut right to the chase here. How much money is enough? How much would make you happy this holiday season? We mean really happy. A million? $10 million? $100 million? The age-old question of whether money can buy happiness plays out in the headlines daily. Jewel Whittaker, wife of the lottery winner who took home the richest undivided jackpot in U.S. history a lump-sum payout of about $113 million after taxes now says she regrets his purchase of the ticket that won the $314.9 million jackp
Dec 27, 2004, 8:02 am - Lottery News

Details of lottery winner kin's death still sketchyNews Story
The 17-year-old granddaughter of the nation's largest lottery winner was found dead near her boyfriend's home, her body wrapped in a sheet and plastic tarp. Brandi Bragg, who lived in the nearby town of Hurricane, was last seen alive Dec. 4. She was reported missing five days later by Jack Whittaker, who won a $314.9 million jackpot on Christmas Day 2002 but has battled legal and other problems since then.The cause of death was under investigation. Authorities said there were no obvious signs o
Dec 21, 2004, 10:51 am - Lottery News

Record Powerball lottery winner's granddaughter found deadNews Story
The body of record Powerball winner Jack Whittaker's 17-year-old granddaughter was found Monday in a rural area in western West Virginia, State Police said.Brandi Bragg's body was tentatively identified based on tattoos on her neck, said State Police Sgt. Jay Powers. The troopers (at the scene) had talked to her in the past and knew her, Powers said.State Police found the body behind a junked vehicle in a grassy area on Scary Creek Road outside Scott Depot in Putnam County, across the road from
Dec 20, 2004, 5:43 pm - Lottery News

Illinois man charged with stealing lottery ticketsNews Story
A Schaumburg, Illinois man is accused of stealing hundreds of lottery tickets around Chicago's northwest suburbs over the past two weeks.Police say 35-year-old Anthony Lazzaro told them he took the tickets because he was trying to get Christmas money for his daughter. He has been charged with three counts of retail theft and his bond was set yesterday at 40-thousand dollars.Buffalo Grove Police Detective Anthony Gallagher says Lazzaro would buy a couple of one-dollar tickets at one store, take t
Dec 20, 2004, 8:22 am - Lottery News

Global Pyramid Lottery Sceme Indicted AgainNews Story
On the heels of several indictments and guilty pleadings worldwide, World Games Inc. (WGI) is once again the target of law enforcement.WGI offers different lottery and gaming products to its members on the Internet. Like a pyramid scheme, members join with the intention of registering as many new members as possible, in order to derive credit from those new members. In keeping with a pyramid scheme, the vast percentage of rewards go to the members highest up in the scheme.Pyramid schemes are i
Dec 17, 2004, 12:26 pm - Lottery News

Gaming executives guilty of operating illegal lottery, pyramid schemeNews Story
Six of the lead promoters of World Games Inc. (WGI) plead guilty to operating and promoting an Illegal Pyramid Scheme December 6, 2004 in Calgary, Alberta.The guilty plea was a result of a five month Joint Forces investigation including the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (Gaming Investigation Team), Calgary Police Service, RCMP, and the Lethbridge Police Service.World Games Inc. CEO, Greg Kennedy was found guilty of pyramid selling offenses by the Australian Federal Court earlier this year
Dec 8, 2004, 8:53 am - Lottery News

Honest Virginia man rectifies $1.8 million bank errorNews Story
Last week, Mike Kainrath opened his mail and found a notice from his bank: We credit your account $1,789,830.61.Some people might start jotting a wish list: pay off mortgage, start (and finish) taking care of the childrens college, buy a new car.Kainrath had only one thought: Oh, no!Not again.Kainrath, a Suffolk resident and marketing research manager at The Virginian-Pilot , got a similar notice two Novembers ago when his checking account was credited with $2,700. In April 2003 , it happened a
Nov 26, 2004, 12:29 pm - Lottery News

Judge Orders $5 M Seized In Lottery Scam Go To CharitiesNews Story
A Cincinnati judge has ordered that nearly $5 million seized in a statewide gambling scam be sent to the charities it was supposed to reach in the first place.The scheme was estimated to have raised more than $57 million through the sale of pull-tab instant-lottery tickets in hundreds of bars and restaurants.Hamilton County Judge Fred Nelson wrote in his decision that the gambling ring told people their donations would go to children with birth defects or disabilities.The judge has ordered Ohio
Nov 23, 2004, 8:22 am - Lottery News

Officials Say Oklahoma Lottery Could Take Year To StartNews Story
Oklahoma voters earlier this month ended Gov. Brad Henry's yearslong battle to get a statewide lottery, but the task of making the lottery a reality has just begun.Before the first ticket is sold, a lottery commission has to take shape, the rules of the games established and other details worked out.The first step comes with Henry's appointment of a seven-member lottery commission. The governor's office is accepting applications. They'll go through a lengthy and detailed process, including an OS
Nov 19, 2004, 11:50 am - Lottery News