Investigators find another friend of Tipton who cashed rigged lottery prize

May 11, 2016, 5:54 pm (15 comments)

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Scandal goes beyond jackpots to smaller prizes too

A friend of the former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association who is implicated in a jackpot-fixing scandal was given a winning Kansas Lottery ticket worth $15,000 in 2011 as an engagement gift, she said Wednesday.

Iowa prosecutors had Amy DeMoney testify Wednesday in a hearing for Eddie Tipton, who faces trial in July for ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering charges for games he allegedly fixed in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Separately, Tipton is appealing last year's fraud conviction related to a 2010 Iowa Hot Lotto ticket.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Rob Sand alleges that Tipton installed software known as a root kit that enabled him to manipulate numbers in computers that were supposed to randomly generate number combinations for several lottery games. The program would then self-destruct leaving no trace. Tipton denies that allegation.

What tripped Tipton up, investigators say, was his decision to buy some of the winning tickets himself. Workers at the lottery association, which serves 37 states and U.S. territories, are prohibited from trying their luck.

In the case of the Kansas ticket, the state's lottery officials have previously said they believe Tipton bought two winning tickets for the "2by2" game at separate locations while driving through Kansas in December 2010. The Kansas Lottery said investigators believe the tickets were passed on to other individuals Tipton knew to be cashed.

DeMoney, a Waukee, Iowa, resident, said Wednesday that Tipton approached her in the spring of 2011 and told her he won some money in the lottery and he didn't want to turn in the ticket, worth about $15,000, because he could lose his job.

"He asked me if I would be willing to cash it in," she said. "He told me to consider it an engagement gift."

There was a catch, however. She had to drive to Kansas to cash in, and Tipton wanted $6,000 back in cash.

She said she cashed in the ticket sometime in May 2011 and contacted Tipton, who suggested they meet in the parking lot of a grocery store to hand off his share of the cash.

Court documents indicate that Sand plans on seeking restitution of nearly $2 million from Tipton if he's convicted at the upcoming trial scheduled for July 18. That's the accumulated estimate of jackpots paid out in the games Sand alleges were rigged.

Tipton faces 10 years for last year's fraud conviction, and his appeal is set for arguments before the Iowa Court of Appeals on June 16.

Tipton's attorney, Dean Stowers, says the state's evidence was insufficient to support the jury verdict, the judge should have dismissed the case because the statute of limitations had expired and the judge made several errors at trial regarding evidence and jury instructions.

Timeline of the biggest crime in US lottery history

The following is a compilation of Lottery Post news coverage chronicling the Hot Lotto mystery and subsequently discovered crime.

We start the timeline with a news story indicating that only 3 months remained for the $16 million Hot Lotto jackpot to be claimed.

AP, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

Bleudog101

the prisoner had another definition of RNG:  Really nice guard!

sully16's avatarsully16

Seems like there are going to be more people who knew, who will be the first to cut a deal?

music*'s avatarmusic*

Thank You, Todd, for keeping us updated on Lottery Post.

 You can expect any secret to get out when you tell one other person. This applies to lottery winners as well.

Group Hug

DELotteryPlyr's avatarDELotteryPlyr

Quote: Originally posted by music* on May 11, 2016

Thank You, Todd, for keeping us updated on Lottery Post.

 You can expect any secret to get out when you tell one other person. This applies to lottery winners as well.

Group Hug

I am sure there will be more 'friends' like this  that come forward. 

ANY state that thinks RNG is good has got to be NUTS after this! 

RJOh's avatarRJOh

I wonder if she really thought it was an engagement gift when a friend who works for the lottery gives her a winning lottery ticket to cash that he can't because of his job and offer to split the after tax amount equally. I wonder how many such gifts Tipton offered other friends.

maximumfun's avatarmaximumfun

I guess what surprises me is that this stayed a "secret" for so long.

Tialuvslotto's avatarTialuvslotto

The investigators have a rule:  Follow DeMoney.  So they did!

JoeCanWin

Quote: Originally posted by Tialuvslotto on May 12, 2016

The investigators have a rule:  Follow DeMoney.  So they did!

I get the impression that Miss DeMoney came forward willingly. If she did, she will probably get off. We shall soon see. Poor Eddie, doesn't he know yet that there is no such thing as the perfect crime? You can outsmart people and computer stuff, but you can never outsmart karma.

sully16's avatarsully16

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on May 11, 2016

I wonder if she really thought it was an engagement gift when a friend who works for the lottery gives her a winning lottery ticket to cash that he can't because of his job and offer to split the after tax amount equally. I wonder how many such gifts Tipton offered other friends.

Exactly.

luckyshoes's avatarluckyshoes

Who better to take the money than DeMoney Crazy........the lure of easy money has a very strong appeal.

Groppo's avatarGroppo

To Everyone:

I sure am glad I've never ever got myself involved in any sort of crime. And now, this white collar type of crime,
where I'd be lost. I wouldn't even know the "how" or "what" associated with such crimes.

Why can't these people, like in the RNG thing just STOP AND THINK, before going any further?
Before it becomes too late, and the next thing they know, they're doing 10 years?

What the heck people?

So, if you find yourself involved in some kind of complicated situation, please just stop.
If you find yourself going for personal gains, legally, but at the risk of others losing their possible gains, also legally, then there's something with that. 

Seek help first. Call your local Police, and ask if you are about the engage in something that may be illegal.
Call a friend and get their opinion. Call a priest.  Call Batman. . . . (call Batman?)

 

Mr. Groppo

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Quote: Originally posted by Tialuvslotto on May 12, 2016

The investigators have a rule:  Follow DeMoney.  So they did!

Good one. LOL !

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by Groppo on May 12, 2016

To Everyone:

I sure am glad I've never ever got myself involved in any sort of crime. And now, this white collar type of crime,
where I'd be lost. I wouldn't even know the "how" or "what" associated with such crimes.

Why can't these people, like in the RNG thing just STOP AND THINK, before going any further?
Before it becomes too late, and the next thing they know, they're doing 10 years?

What the heck people?

So, if you find yourself involved in some kind of complicated situation, please just stop.
If you find yourself going for personal gains, legally, but at the risk of others losing their possible gains, also legally, then there's something with that. 

Seek help first. Call your local Police, and ask if you are about the engage in something that may be illegal.
Call a friend and get their opinion. Call a priest.  Call Batman. . . . (call Batman?)

 

Mr. Groppo

Eddie Tipton got away with this for six years with the help of friends and relatives and smaller winning amounts.  Being in security, he should have known a jackpot of $15M would be investigated more closely.  He got greedy and went for the big one which he planned to keep it all for just himself.

Groppo's avatarGroppo

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on May 12, 2016

Eddie Tipton got away with this for six years with the help of friends and relatives and smaller winning amounts.  Being in security, he should have known a jackpot of $15M would be investigated more closely.  He got greedy and went for the big one which he planned to keep it all for just himself.

Mr. RJoh,

Amazing how greed will feed on itself.

I thank Jehovah God that He's not allowed me to stray into such murky waters.
I do other things I shouldn't, like play lotto in the first place. Sometimes, online, I play poker, but I rarely feel lucky.

But, I don't want to be the guy sitting in jail right now, with 10 years to go, thinking
"Why did I do it? Why? WHY?. . . . "

And then the cell mate from the next cell   "Hey FOOL,  Keep it down . . . . . . ".

Jail/Prison has to be the most depressing thing there is.


Mr Groppo

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