MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN — Perhaps a big reason why the Americans pay so much attention to their lottery winnings and processes, er, are this guy. Eddie Tipton, connected to embezzling funds from lottery winnings across five states, is now facing charges in Wisconsin. Officials say that Tipton, the former head of Lottery security, added six new charges to his belt Friday that included: money laundering; racketeering, and computer crimes.
As the head of IT for an association that handles lottery winnings in 37 states, Tipton, had apparently used his authority to mess with the code that handles and chooses the winning numbers. Beginning in 2010, Tipton, had used the code to manipulate the system and earn more than $14.3m in 2010. Now, official are leveling charges against Tipton because they reportedly claim that he earned more than $750,000 in illegal lottery earnings.
Tipton’s alleged accomplice Robert Rhodes is also facing charges according to police. The two apparently would work together by Tipton providing rigged numbers to Rhodes who would buy tickets, and then, they would essentially split the earnings.