Eddie Tipton, 52, of Iowa was found guilty on Monday of rigging a computerized Hot Lotto game so he could win the $14 million jackpot, then get acquaintances to cash the prize for him without revealing his identity. This is a landmark verdict since it is the nation's first prosecution for having rigged a computerized lottery drawing.
Hot Lotto is run in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia. The jackpot starts at $1 million and will continue to increase until someone wins.
Jurors convicted Tipton, a former information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, on two counts of fraud on Monday morning after a weeklong trial, according to The Des Moines Register.
Tipton was accused of installing a computer program known as rootkit on a Hot Lotto drawing which would have given him a $14 million winning lottery ticket in a Dec. 29, 2010 drawing. Because the computer program is self-deleting (thus covering his tracks), Tipton nearly got away with it, according to USA Today.
Authorities became suspicious when lawyers from Canada and New York tried to claim the prize money. Since neither one of them provided the identity of the alleged winner, an investigation was conducted, and no money was paid out.
Tipton was eventually identified as the culprit when a video of Tipton, disguised with a hoodie, making the ticket purchase at a Des Moines QuikTrip, was released to the public in October 2010, according to the New York Daily News.
Tipton faces 10 years in prison for his lottery scheme. However, since the computer program that rigged the lottery game was auto-deleted, his defense lawyer Dean Stowers says that there is insufficient evidence and plans to appeal.
