Victims of the largest lottery scam in U.S. history will benefit from a $4.3 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
The settlement will refund the cost of tickets purchased in nine specific drawings dates for games sold in 33 states, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., between Nov. 23, 2005 and May 23, 2013. A settlement website will be set up to assist people who seek refunds. Losing tickets will not be required to submit a claim for up to 10 non-winning tickets, although administrators will retain the right to ask for verification.
The settlement formally ends the case of the lottery scam of Eddie Tipton the former IT director of MUSL who was found to have added a secret code to random number generator software in 2005, allowing him to narrow drawing odds from 5 million-to-1 down to 200-to-1. He was able to win five drawings with the illegal code, piling up more than $24 million in prizes in five states.
Tipton was convicted of fraud and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The subsequent lawsuit was filed by an Iowa man who spent $63 on lottery tickets during the scam period.
