CONNIVING brothers used a “secret code” in the most audacious lottery scam in history – but a mistake meant they never got the cash.
Eddie Tipton began his “Hot Lotto” fraud in 2005 while working for the Multi-State Lottery Association in Iowa, USA.
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He developed a cryptic computer that he rigged up to the lottery random number generator.
This meant he could generate his own codes and go on to claim a lottery win.
He won two draws through his scam while brother Tommy won ten years prior.
Two other people won the jackpot thanks to Tipton.
In December 2010, he was seen on CCTV buying a ticket for a £13 million jackpot at a Des Moines convenience store.
He chose the correct numbers and “won” the Hot Lotto multi-state prize.
But Tipton had to remain anonymous to not get caught out – so he set up an off-shore trust based in Belize in order to claim it.
On November 9, 2011, a man called Philip Johnson from Quebec City in Canada rang the lottery claiming he had won the jackpot and provided a 15-digit code.
He said he was too ill to collect the sum in person but when he was unable to answer verification questions, he was turned down.
He called again on December 6, this time claiming the ticket-winner was anonymous and that Hexham Investments, Tipton’s shell company, represented the winner.
Iowa Lottery rules forbid anonymous prize claims and this was also turned down.
With just two hours left to claim the jackpot on December 29, 2011, lawyers representing the firm submitted a claim but spelt the firm’s name ‘Hexam’ – it was thrown out.
An investigation was launched where CCTV of Tipton purchasing the ticket was found.
On January 15, 2015, the law caught up with him and he was arrested and charged with two counts of fraud.
He told investigators after his conviction: “It was never my intent to start a full-out ticket scam.”
In July that year, Tipton was sentenced to ten years in prison having been found guilty on both charges.
Following a successful parole hearing he was freed in July 2022.