A former Iowa Lottery employee from Alta faces eight charges. DCI Special Agent Steve VanOtterloo says the investigation started after the lottery noticed discrepancies in records of some north-central Iowa retail locations “They discovered there was some missing scratch lottery tickets unaccounted for,” VanOtterloo says. He says the Iowa Lottery then called in the DCI to assist.
VanOtterloo says they were able to track the missing tickets. “There was evidence to show that one of the employees actually kept the tickers for herself and then cashed them in for their prize value,” VanOtterloo says. Toni Hammer of Alta is charge with seven counts of lottery fraud and one count of tampering with records.
VanOtterloo says Hammer had been a district sales rep and her job was to go to retailers and keep them supplied with tickets. He says Hammer did not steal any tickers that were big winners. “The total prize that she received on the tickets that she cashed was less than 150 dollars,” VanOtterloo says.
The lottery fraud charges are felonies, while the tampering with records charge is an aggravated misdemeanor.