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Lawyers seek to depose lottery fraud mastermind in prisonNews Story
Lawyers pursuing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of lottery customers nationwide are seeking to interview the jailed insider who allegedly rigged jackpots for himself and others for years. The lawyers said in a court filing Friday they want to take the deposition of Eddie Tipton at the prison in Clarinda, Iowa, to gather information for their case against the Multi-State Lottery Association. Judge Michael Huppert recently granted class-action status to the case, which involves customers w
Jan 21, 2019, 8:50 pm - Lottery News

California man learns $10 million reason not to tell your roommate if you win the lotteryNews Story
This past Christmas, a man in Vacaville, Calif., learned a grim, but useful, holiday lesson: Sometimes, don't spread glad tidings. Keep the good news to yourself. It was Dec. 20, and the city of about 100,000, located midway between Sacramento and San Francisco, was festooned with white lights and toy reindeer. Hoping to get his hands on a bit of extra cash for the holidays, the Vacaville man went to a Lucky grocery store and paid $30 for a scratch-off lottery ticket that odds said would leav
Jan 9, 2019, 5:55 pm - Lottery News

Investigation finds lottery scamming Tipton brothers have repaid virtually nothingNews Story
By Jason Clayworth and Rachel Denny Clow Two brothers who spearheaded the biggest lottery scam in U.S. history have repaid less than $1,400 in restitution despite owning property worth nearly $2 million, a Des Moines Register and Corpus Christi Caller Times investigation has found. Between them, Eddie and Tommy Tipton have admitted rigging winning drawings in at least five states, including Iowa, worth a combined $24 million. But they have barely made a dent in the more than $2.4 millio
Dec 27, 2018, 8:52 am - Lottery News

US woman convicted in Jamaican lottery scam to remain jailedNews Story
A federal judge in North Dakota on Monday ordered a Rhode Island woman convicted of funnelling lottery scam money between the US and Jamaica to remain jailed pending a February sentencing hearing, where she could face a stiffer sentence than the alleged mastermind. Her hands were all over the conspiracy that authorities said bilked at least 90 mostly elderly Americans out of more than $5.7 million, US District Judge Daniel Hovland said at the end of a contentious detention hearing in which M
Dec 5, 2018, 2:28 pm - Lottery News

British man charged with fraudulently claiming £2.5 million lottery jackpotNews Story
Faked winning ticket? A man who won 2.5 Million in the UK's National Lottery appeared in court today accused of faking the winning ticket. Edward Putman, 53, made his first appearance in the crown court following a three year police investigation. But, in a preliminary hearing, his barrister Lawrence Selby told St. Albans Crown Court that Putman would be making an application to dismiss the charge. In October, Putman appeared before magistrates to plead not guilty to fraud by false r
Nov 26, 2018, 8:33 pm - Lottery News

China lottery corruption probe sparks online outrageNews Story
China's government is attempting to downplay social media rumors that lottery administrators have embezzled nearly $20 billion from lottery proceeds. On Tuesday, the South China Morning Post reported on the frantic efforts by Beijing authorities to refute social media chatter that around RMB136b (US$19.5b) had been embezzled by corrupt lottery administrators. A popular meme blames this corruption for the inability of the average citizen to win a sizable lottery prize. The meme has its orig
Nov 14, 2018, 9:41 am - Lottery News

Lottery ticket leads FBI to Illinois bank robbery suspectNews Story
Sometimes when you win, you really lose. Such is the case for Arlington Heights resident Dexter L. Riley, whose good fortune in the Illinois lottery helped the FBI link him to a bank robbery last month in Palatine. The FBI on Thursday announced Riley, 38, is charged with holding up the Chase Bank at 1131 E. Dundee Road on Sept. 28, getting away with more than $8,250 in the heist. It's what authorities say Riley left behind a scratch-off lottery ticket that led to his undoing. A crimi
Oct 9, 2018, 12:04 pm - Lottery News

'It was a horrible, horrible crime that I committed,' Jamaican lottery scammer repentsNews Story
Charles Bennett had already lost his home and moved into a trailer to pay the scammers who had taken over his life. Soon he was hiding there in the dark, told in a late-night phone call that he was about to be arrested over unpaid bills. The 85-year-old Massachusetts man would be stopped from selling the trailer by a social services investigation, but he lost all control over his finances. Even then, he starved himself so he could hand over his food allowance to the scammers. He remained conv
Oct 5, 2018, 9:25 am - Lottery News

He won $19 million in the lottery — and became a bank robberNews Story
The first time Jim Hayes robbed a bank, at age 55, he gave himself a pep talk. The former security guard a clean-cut guy with silver hair and a doughy physique stood frozen next to the entrance of Montecito Bank Trust at a strip mall in Carpinteria, a mellow beach town about 12 miles southeast of Santa Barbara. Hayes had stuffed a pillow in his shirt and pulled a Zoo York cap low over his face. It was 5:15 p.m. on April 27, 2017 and he'd spent weeks researching how to pull off the heist. Now,
Sep 30, 2018, 11:38 am - Lottery News

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