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D.C. fines lottery operator $1.4M in ticket scamNews Story
GTECH Corp., the operator of many government lotteries worldwide, was fined $1.4 million by the District of Columbia this month over charges that its subcontractors or a partner firm hacked into the district's lottery system and printed winning tickets for themselves two years ago. The fine, which GTECH calls a blatantly political move, comes as the firm is locked in a long battle to retain the New Jersey contract it has held for more than two decades. GTECH and its Washington, D.C., partn
Sep 26, 2008, 9:56 am - Lottery News

Former Texas Lottery employee investigated for storing personal information at homeNews Story
Authorities are investigating a former employee of the Texas Lottery Commission who illegally had the personal information of some employees, lottery winners and retailers stored on a home computer. The criminal investigation, which started about three weeks ago, involves the Texas comptroller's office and the Travis County district attorney's office, lottery spokesman Bobby Heith said. He declined to give other details, saying he didn't want to jeopardize the investigation. The employee a
Sep 12, 2008, 3:18 am - Lottery News

Wardens probed over Kenyan prisoners' lottery scamNews Story
Kenya's prison officers are at the center of an investigation over their involvement in a SMS (Short Message Service) syndicate that defrauded the public through nonexistent lotteries. Last weekend, 350 mobile phones and 400 unused SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards were uncovered after a search of prisoners' blocks at the Kamiti Maximum Prison, and an earlier search at the Naivasha Prison uncovered 270 phones. Officers also found a register bearing the names of potential targets. The
Jul 15, 2008, 9:15 pm - Lottery News

$57M Mega Millions lottery winner is sex offender with criminal pastNews Story
Fred Topous, the Kent City man who just won $57 million in the Mega Millions lottery, is a registered sex offender with a criminal past. A co-worker describes Topous as a man who turned his life around and would do anything for a friend. Topous, 45, previously served time for larceny in Grand Traverse County. He's also been imprisoned on a weapons offense, unlawfully driving away in a vehicle, and forced-entry burglary. The burglary charge is from the 1980s. He's also on the Michigan S
Jun 20, 2008, 8:01 am - Lottery News

Two men arrested in Russia for running Western-style pyramid schemeNews Story
250,000 people defrauded of US$765 million Two men were arrested in Moscow, Russia, on Monday on charges of setting up a pyramid scheme that defrauded around 250,000 people of 18 billion rubles ($765 million), the Interior Ministry said. Two organizers of the criminal group have been detained Sokolov and Dzhasybaeva, who operated under the firms names Region-Center, Garant Invest, and Garant Kredit. They have been brought to Tatarstan [in the Volga area] for investigation proceedings, a m
Jun 10, 2008, 6:43 pm - Lottery News

Two arrested for buying lottery tickets with fake moneyNews Story
New York State Police have charged two men who are on parole in connection with the passage of phony $20 bills for lottery tickets. Sean Boyle, 21, of Walden, was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree, a felony, and Christopher Zaorski, 36, of Goshen, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree and petit larceny, both misdemeanors. The arrests were the result of a two-month investigation by State Police at Middletown and
Jun 4, 2008, 11:29 am - Lottery News

Yahoo files suit against 'lottery' spammersNews Story
Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against Yahoo Lottery spammers. The Sunnyvale-based company said the spammers send out e-mail messages trying to make people believe they've won a lottery or prize offered by Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO). The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City under the Federal Trademark Act, the Federal CAN-SPAM Act and related state laws. Yahoo said it does not offer any such awards and has no affil
May 27, 2008, 10:33 am - Lottery News

Ex-boyfriend charged with killing $5M lottery winnerNews Story
The world, or at least a small corner of it, was hers a year ago. Doris Murray, mother of four, had won $5 million in the Georgia Lottery on her 41st birthday. She posed for a photograph with big ceremonial check at the Amba Food Store in East Dublin, where she had bought her winning lottery ticket. And, according to a press release from the Georgia Lottery Corp., she declared This is the best birthday ever. On Monday, Murray was found dead in the same modest block home she had lived in on
May 9, 2008, 9:29 am - Lottery News

Man caught stealing from charity lotteryNews Story
The boss of a charity lottery has been jailed for pocketing thousands of pounds and taking his family on the dream holiday which was supposed to be the grand prize. Millionaire Leigh Windsor, aged 46, stole $550,000 from two air ambulance charities and picked phantom winners from the phone book after rigging the draws. He skimmed off the first three months of payments from thousands of customers who joined up because they believed they were supporting charity. Windsor took his family
Apr 8, 2008, 9:45 am - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery requires winners to sign ticketsNews Story
On the heels of a similar announcement from the Ontario Lottery, the Iowa Lottery has imposed a new rule aimed at reducing the possibility of retailer fraud. Starting March 15, 2008, Iowa retailers will only be able to check and cash lottery tickets if they have first been signed by the ticketholder. The lottery also reinforced that players are responsible for the accuracy of their tickets before leaving the store, and for determining if their ticket is a winner. Under current rules, re
Mar 10, 2008, 10:24 am - Lottery News