DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former lottery security official has been found guilty of fraud for rigging a Hot Lotto game so he could win a $14 million jackpot.
An Iowa jury on Monday convicted 52-year-old Eddie Tipton, of Norwalk. He faces up to five years in prison on each of the two counts when sentenced in September. Tipton’s lawyer says he’ll appeal.
Tipton denied being involved, saying he wasn’t even in Iowa on Dec. 23, 2010, when someone bought the winning ticket at a Des Moines area convenience store. His attorney says store surveillance video was too fuzzy to identify the buyer.
Prosecutors argued Tipton had access to the room housing the computer that picked Hot Lotto numbers and lied about being out of state.
Tipton was never awarded the money.
