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Last defendant in large Jamaican lottery scam convictedNews Story
A federal jury in North Dakota on Friday convicted a Rhode Island woman of helping scam elderly Americans out of millions of dollars, capping a large-scale Jamaican lottery scam case that authorities have been investigating and prosecuting for six years. Jurors found Melinda Bulgin, 28, guilty of 15 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering, after 3 1/2 hours of deliberations over two days. Defense attorney Kevin Chapman said he likely will appeal. The Providence woman was the last
Sep 15, 2018, 8:36 pm - Lottery News

Last defendant in Jamaican lottery scam case going to trialNews Story
A Rhode Island woman accused of funneling lottery scam money between the U.S. and Jamaica through her airline job goes on trial in federal court in North Dakota this week. She is the last of 27 defendants in the case that began seven years ago this month. Here's a look at the case and the upcoming trial of Melinda Bulgin, which is expected to last up to 10 days. Why is this case a big deal? The Federal Trade Commission estimates that lottery scams could be a billion-dollar-a-year industry
Sep 10, 2018, 10:36 pm - Lottery News

Pennsylvania casinos file suit against state lottery over Internet-based gamesNews Story
Seven commercial casino operators in Pennsylvania have filed suit in Commonwealth Court against the Pennsylvania Lottery over its new breed of casino-style online games. The casino operators are asking the court to stop the Lottery from offering the games, introduced in May, arguing they cut too close to the online games that the casinos say state gambling law reserves exclusively for them. The suit alleges several of the Lottery's games improperly imitate the look, sound and feel of slot
Aug 22, 2018, 3:14 pm - Lottery News

Police break up scratch-off lottery ticket burglary ringNews Story
Authorities have arrested three San Jose, California, men and are seeking at least one other suspected of breaking into Bay Area businesses to steal lottery scratch-off tickets. Belmont police Capt. Patrick Halleran said his agency cracked the crime ring with help from the Burlingame, Menlo Park, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno, and San Jose police departments and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The suspects would break into closed businesses in the early morning hours and steal large quan
Aug 17, 2018, 1:07 pm - Lottery News

CT Lottery official disciplined for botched raffle draw claims lottery has vendetta against himNews Story
The Connecticut Lottery Corp. opened 2018 with a million dollar blunder at a Jan. 1 drawing, and months of controversy followed. But that seemed to die down as the agency recently reported a record $345 million in revenue on $1.2 billion in annual ticket sales, and took a step toward normality last month by hiring Gregory Smith, the acting Illinois lottery chief, to fill its long-vacant CEO position. However, the surface calm is deceiving. There's still big trouble. It comes in the form of
Aug 5, 2018, 8:25 am - Lottery News

Man busts through store roof, steals lottery ticketsNews Story
Includes video report By Todd Northrop A thief hoping to steal his way to some good luck busted through the roof of a grocery store and took hundreds of dollars worth of lottery tickets on Wednesday. Ironically, unlucky for him, it was all caught on camera. Surveillance footage captured a fairly clear image of the suspect's face, and after about a day on the run, Kevin Croft, 30, was arrested for the crime by Florida detectives. Croft was booked into the Lee County Jail and faces
Jul 20, 2018, 9:01 am - Lottery News

Aunt threatens to sue nephew over lottery jackpotNews Story
Includes video report A woman awarded half of a $1.2 million lottery prize in Nova Scotia says her nephew is dead to her after he took half of the prize money, and that she only wrote his name on the ticket for good luck. Meanwhile, at least one lawyer says she may have a case. Barb Reddick and her nephew, Tyrone MacInnis, each received checks for $611,319.50 on Thursday after a $1,222,639 ticket with both their names on it was pulled Wednesday night at a Chase the Ace draw in Margaree, N.
Jul 14, 2018, 9:17 am - Lottery News

Oregon man arrested for threatening lotteryNews Story
By Todd Northrop A Lebanon, Oregon, man was arrested after he sent a shooting threat in an e-mail to the Oregon Lottery. The Oregon State Police said Jason David Ouellette, 42, was arrested on suspicion of menacing Tuesday afternoon. 5 hours earlier Ouellette had sent an email to the Lottery's Salem headquarters with an imminent threat to shoot and kill people, the law enforcement agency said. Ouellette was jailed in Marion County without incident, troopers said, but was later released
Jul 13, 2018, 11:51 am - Lottery News

Iowa lawmakers, casinos, lottery 'all in' for sports bettingNews Story
It's estimated that Americans spend somewhere between $100 billion and $150 billion annually on illegal sports betting. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May overturning a federal law that had prohibited legalized sports betting in all but Nevada, Iowa lawmakers, retailers and casinos are looking at how best to bring black market bettors into the light. They're all in, Rep. Jake Highfill, R-Johnston, said about Democratic and Republican colleagues who have been calling him since th
Jul 12, 2018, 9:59 am - Lottery News

Texas lottery winner battled Alzheimer's as daughter stole $250,000News Story
Not long after Austin widow Billie Lawler matched all five numbers in the Mega Millions in 2005, her health began to erode along with her $750,000 prize. She hoped to live out the balance of her life at a high-end Alzheimer's care facility, but was evicted after about a year when she no longer could make the $5,000 monthly rent, prompting a court-ordered investigation that revealed her daughter had burned through her mom's money a crime against the elderly that prosecutors and judges say is c
Jun 3, 2018, 4:28 pm - Lottery News