Sugar Land connection to the lottery fixing investigation (Houston, Canadian: 2015, lawyer)

[DRob4JC]

Thought this was interesting... just posting for informative purposes. The lotteries are already an extremely low percentage method of gaining wealth, but if the system is rigged, why play at all?

Jackpot-fixing investigation expands to more state lotteries

Eddie Tipton, former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, has been convicted of fraud for fixing one jackpot in Des Moines, but prosecutors say his high-tech scheme extended far beyond Iowa. He’s accused of tampering with lottery drawings in four states over six years, and investigators are expanding their inquiry nationwide.

Investigators have asked states to review jackpots produced by the number-generators Tipton had access to, and whose winning numbers were specifically requested by the ticket buyer. They hope to talk with anyone aware of such payouts being collected by someone other than the person who ends up with the money, said Rob Sand, a state prosecutor in Des Moines who is leading the probe.

...
Tipton, 52, was sentenced to 10 years but is free pending appeal after being convicted at trial of trying to claim a $16.5 million jackpot in Iowa. He’s also charged with criminal conduct and money laundering involving the other three state lotteries. His brother, Tommy Tipton, and his best friend, Robert Rhodes, are under investigation as possible accomplices.

...
Eddie Tipton had worked at the association since 2003, after a career in information technology, including at a Rhodes-owned firm in Houston called Systems Evolution. He was promoted in 2013 to security director, a job that included protecting the integrity of the computer programs that generate winning numbers.

Investigators allege that Tipton passed the winning ticket to Rhodes, a businessman in Sugar Land, Texas, who was his classmate at the University of Houston. Rhodes then passed it to a Canadian offshore banking expert who gave it to the New York lawyer who tried to collect, they said. Rhodes is now fighting extradition to Iowa, where he was charged early this year.

[shortel]

Its a proven fact poor people play the lottery more often then anyone else.

[PedroMartinez]

I pay $2 per week for the stupid tax. I feel the "what if" entertainment factor is worth it and a better entertainment "investment" than things like Pixels and The Night Before. Since I have a 25% chance of not checking the tickets, I'd say I don't take it very serious.

[Disgustedman]

Thing is, it was 4 lotteries over 6 years and they're STILL not too sure of this. What bothers me is that the states are relying on computers for numbers when they should have stayed with the bouncing balls and kept it TRULY random.

Personally I'm planning on buying $5 a draw every draw. Yep, not likely to win the top prize, but say I win $200K??

I then would be Retired" very quickly.