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Iowa lottery lawsuit granted class action, affecting 7.2 million tickets in 19 statesNews Story
By Jason Clayworth A judge has granted class-action status in a lawsuit that claims people who purchased at least 7.2 million lottery tickets in 19 states were scammed by a former national lottery IT director who worked in Iowa. Eddie Tipton, the former IT director for the Multi-State Lottery Association in Urbandale, added a secret code to random number-generating computer software in 2005 that allowed him to narrow the drawing's winning odds from as great as 5 million to 1 down to 200 to
Jan 28, 2019, 10:24 am - Lottery News

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

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

'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

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

Sweepstakes, lottery scams cost Americans more than $111 million in 2017News Story
A new study reveals sweepstakes, lottery and prize-related scams cost Americans millions of dollars each year. The Better Business Bureau calls these schemes some of the most serious and pervasive frauds operating today. In the past three years, the group says more than 460,000 Americans have reported losing a total of over $330 million to such scams. The Better Business Bureau says these crooks are professionals. They might take advantage of someone in your family, and they can be very c
Jun 5, 2018, 3:45 pm - Lottery News

OOPS: Phone fraudster tries to scam copNews Story
Includes video report A phone scammer made a grave error when he dialed Officer Jeff Bowling and attempted to access his personal information last week. At first, the caller had no clue he was on the line with a cop. Officer Bowling with the Peebles Police Department in Adams County, Ohio, was actually working on the case when he got a call from a strange number that turned out to be a phone scammer. He quickly began to record the conversation, which lasted for 11 minutes. A man on the
May 16, 2018, 2:54 pm - Lottery News