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Police arrest four in Chicago lottery ticket scamNews Story
Police arrested two men and two women earlier this week who allegedly ran a lottery ticket scam that targeted elderly Hispanic victims. The four worked as a team and typically sought out elderly Hispanic victims at stores and on the street, according to a release from the Chicago Police. The suspects would approach a victim two at a time and explain they were illegal immigrants and had a winning lottery ticket of more than one million dollars. They would then offer to share the winnings if
Nov 8, 2009, 8:53 am - Lottery News

Victim of stolen Texas lottery ticket says he knows how to get money backNews Story
Willis Willis has an idea how he can get his money back from the store clerk who authorities say stole his $1 million winning lottery ticket. Just get me in a room with him for two minutes, says the 67-year-old Navy veteran. Willis was back home in Grand Prairie on Tuesday after a meeting with Texas Lottery Commission officials Monday in Austin in which his attorneys tried unsuccessfully to collect the winnings. It was a meeting that only seemed to add confusion and frustration to the
Nov 4, 2009, 8:20 am - Lottery News

Cheated winner wants Texas Lottery to pay upNews Story
A man cheated of his million-dollar jackpot wants the Texas Lottery to pay up. The case of Willis Willis drew widespread attention a week ago after a store clerk was indicted for allegedly keeping Willis' winning ticket and claiming the 67-year-old Grand Prairie man's prize in June. The clerk, identified as Pankaj Joshi, is considered a fugitive. And Willis is still waiting for his money. It's been amazing what's going on, Willis, who said he does maintenance work at apartment build
Oct 28, 2009, 8:46 am - Lottery News

Store clerk accused of stealing $1M lottery ticket from customerNews Story
Willis Willis may have had the winning lottery ticket, but it was the convenience store clerk who had his number. As authorities tell it, years of playing the Texas lottery finally paid off for the Grand Prairie man in May when he walked into the Lucky Food Store with a million-dollar ticket. But in a double twist of tortured fortune, an opportunistic clerk may have cheated him out of his ticket and his treasure. Now, while Willis waits to be a millionaire, police are searching for the
Oct 22, 2009, 5:58 am - Lottery News

Convicted embezzler to forfeit Kansas Lottery prizeNews Story
Paul W. Lyle learned that he won the grand prize in a Kansas Lottery second-chance drawing at his preliminary hearing 11 days ago. Trouble was: The former radio executive was facing a charge of felony theft for embezzling a reported $87,750 from his employer, American Media Investments, which owns three radio stations in Pittsburg, five in Joplin, Mo., and five more in Texas. The supreme irony: Lyle, 63, the company's chief operating officer until the theft was discovered in May, confessed th
Oct 3, 2009, 11:36 am - Lottery News

Lottery winner loses ticket, awarded unspent portion from couple who found itNews Story
Amanda Stacey and her husband, Michael, who found a winning lottery ticket on the floor of a shop and collected the 30,000 prize have been ordered to pay back half the money to the person who originally bought it. The couple spent half the money clearing debts, buying new carpets and treating their children after Mrs. Stacey spotted the slip in a Co-op supermarket in Swindon, Wilts. However, Dorothy McDonagh, who had bought the 1 Daily Play ticket, called the UK National Lottery operator C
Jul 25, 2009, 8:40 am - Lottery News

Arkansas lottery retailers to be policed for fraud, officials sayNews Story
The legislation laying the groundwork for Arkansas' lottery does not require it, but officials say they expect the lottery system to include a security division that will be on the lookout for fraud by retailers. The problem of fraud by lottery retailers gained new attention in the U.S. in the wake of a 2007 scandal in Canada, where investigators found that retailers and their employees were winning a disproportionately large number of prizes. Between 1999 and 2006, at least 78 retail owne
May 19, 2009, 8:32 am - Lottery News

N.C. lottery store owners, employees winning big and oftenNews Story
Some of the same people who sell North Carolina Education Lottery tickets are winning big and winning often and that makes some people suspicious. Of the lottery retailers winning prizes, some are amassing significant jackpots repeatedly $100,000, $300,000, and $500,000 prizes dozens of times a year. Is it just dumb luck? Or do these insiders have some kind of inside track? And what is the state doing about it? A regular lottery player first brought the pattern of retailers winning the
May 1, 2009, 2:50 pm - Lottery News

New report criticizes Iowa Lottery securityNews Story
Report claims lottery not investigating fraud complaints The state ombudsman issued a report Tuesday alleging Iowa Lottery officials have failed to adequately protect the enterprise's customers from fraud and theft by retailers. Iowa Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman Bill Angrick said his review of three years' worth of lottery investigations found numerous customer complaints where leads went unexplored and potential crimes were not pursued. And, Angrick said in a 210-page report, even when the
Apr 22, 2009, 12:08 pm - Lottery News

Sting nabs Minnesota lottery clerks stealing winning ticketsNews Story
Investigations will expand after lottery ticket agents attempt to redeem undercover agents' winning tickets Five Twin Cities convenience store employees and three accomplices are facing lottery fraud charges after they were caught by undercover investigators allegedly trying to cash in winning lottery tickets for themselves. The fraud was discovered after the Minnesota State Lottery's security office and the state's Alcohol Gambling Enforcement Division set up a sting operation to test whe
Mar 30, 2009, 10:24 am - Lottery News