State records show the man convicted of rigging lottery jackpots in Iowa and at least four other states was released Friday after serving more than five years in prison.
Eddie Tipton was head of security at the Multi-State Lottery Association in Urbandale. He implanted computer code that manipulated the numbers for Hot Lotto jackpots worth at least $24 million in Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Iowa Lottery officials refused to pay a 2010 Hot Lotto jackpot worth $16.5 million to people who were trying to claim the money anonymously. The scheme unraveled when a co-worker saw the video of a man in a hoodie buying the winning ticket and recognized Tipton.
In 2017, Tipton pleaded guilty to ongoing criminal conduct and was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. The Iowa Board of Parole approved Eddie Tipton’s early release in January, but his parole date was delayed after Tipton got into a fight in prison in February.
Tipton’s brother, Tommy — a former county magistrate in Texas, served 75 days in jail for his role in the scam. Eddie Tipton has filed a court petition to have his conviction reversed and end the payment of restitution.