A state lottery insider has been charged of rigging two Kansas jackpots. Eddie Tipton, former security chief of the MUSL, was also previously charged with criminal conduct and money laundering earlier in the year.
According to Fox News, Tipton allegedly rigged two Kansas jackpots to benefit himself, friends and colleagues. Authorities reported that the former security director of Multi-State Lottery Association, a national group that operates state lotteries in the United States, personally bought two prize-winning tickets that earned him $44,000. It was revealed that he may have also fixed games in other states in addition to Kansas.
Tipton managed the Multi-State Lottery Association's random number generators for 37 states and territories that picked winning number combinations for national games such as Hot Lotto as well as other individual lotteries. As a lottery vendor, he was typically disqualified from purchasing any lottery tickets for himself. Prosecutors believed that Tipton exploited his authorized access to these machines by installing software or programs that would reveal to him the winning numbers before disappearing completely.
Another article by the KWCH12 reported that Iowa prosecutor Rob Sand said in court documents that Tipton took in prizes claimed by others since half their winnings were eventually returned to him. Tipton's own lawyer, Dean Stowers, refuted the statement saying that this was all a publicity stunt at the expense of his client. The accused was also charged of rigging other games earlier this year including those in the states of Wisconsin, Colorado and Oklahoma.
It was reported that the Kansas charges were added to his ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering charges for fixing jackpots amounting to $8 million. According to Trib Star, he also attempted to claim a $16.5 million jackpot prize in Iowa. Authorities are now looking into various state lotteries that use the random number generators in question.
The Kansas Lottery, run by the government of Kansas, is a charter member of the national Multi-State Lottery Association. It was first established in 1987 and has its headquarters in Topeka, Kansas. The lottery offers scratch tickets, pull-tab games and terminal-based games such as Hot Lotto, Mega Millions and Powerball.
