The Iowa Supreme Court recently heard arguments in the case of former lottery employee Eddie Tipton, who was convicted of rigging Iowa’s Hot Lotto game in 2015 and redeeming a ticket for a .5 million jackpot. An appeals court reversed his conviction on the charge of attempting to redeem the lottery ticket due to a three-year statute of limitations. Now the high court is considering the state’s appeal of that ruling.
Tipton was the information security director at the Multi-State Lottery Association, where he was responsible for the software that generates random numbers for lottery games. According to court records, he planted a modified software code in the random number generator so it would produce a certain numbers. Tipton allegedly used his insider knowledge to win a $569,000 Colorado jackpot on a ticket his brother cashed, and a $783,257.72 jackpot in Wisconsin on a ticket cashed by a friend, Robert Rhodes.
Then on December 29, 2010, Tipton himself allegedly purchased a winning ticket for Iowa’s Hot Lotto jackpot worth $16.5 million. Four years later, after the state released a video showing someone buying the ticket, another lottery association employee recognized Tipton as the buyer. Tipton never cashed the ticket, but just hours before it would have expired, a New York attorney tried to claim the ticket on behalf of a shell company in Belize.
Justice Brent Appel said, “The coincidences add up beyond belief. What are the odds someone walks into the QuikTrip and comes out with $16.5 million?”
Tipton’s attorney Dean Stowers said there was “zero evidence” that Tipton tampered with the lottery computers. Circumstantial evidence is not sufficient.” Stowers said. He cast doubt on the witness identifications of Tipton as the man buying the winning ticket in the QuikTrip video.
Assistant Attorney General Louis Sloven argued that tampering is a form of fraud in this context, and therefore the statute of limitations should be overlooked because the state was not aware of the tampering until 2014.
Tipton also faces pending criminal charges for the Wisconsin lottery win. An Iowa trial court initially sentenced Tipton to 10 years in prison, but he has been free while his appeal was pending. Additionally, Iowa lottery players have sued the state, demanding a refund for the money they spent on games rigged by Tipton.
The Iowa Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision in 90 days.
