Callum Jones
The chances of you winning the lottery are pretty slim.
That is unless you know how to rig the system, as one man did leading to him being the culprit of the largest lottery scam in US history.
The illegal scheme by Eddie Tipton began in December 2010 when he was captured on CCTV footage purchasing a ticket for a $16.5 million jackpot at a Des Moines convenience store.
While he should have a one in a million chance like everyone else, Tipton in fact had much improved chances of winning the massive jackpot.
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That is because in 2005 he created a cryptic computer code that allowed him to massively slim the odds of choosing winning numbers.
Court records show he could do this in at least five different states.
The $16.5 million prize was not claimed for nearly a year until attempts were made by Tipton to claim the massive winnings on behalf of an anonymous, off-shore trust company in Belize.
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Well, Iowa lottery rules mean winners cannot remain anonymous, so the claim was rejected by officials.
A subsequent investigation saw surveillance footage from a convenience store of Tipton seemingly purchasing a lottery ticket.
This led to the arrest of Tipton on two counts of fraud for attempting to illegally participate in a lottery game as an employee of the organization behind the draws and then claiming the prize through fraudulent means.
While rigging the code for the lottery draws, Tipton won the lottery on another occasion, while his brother in Colorado also won big some ten years ago.
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A further two people won the lottery thanks to Tipton's antics, making him the mastermind behind the largest lottery scam in the US.
In July 2015, Tipton was found guilty of both counts he was charged for, subsequently being sentenced to ten years in prison.
But in July 2022, Tipton was granted an early release from prison thanks to a successful parole appeal.
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The Iowa Board of Parole initially approved his release in January of that year because of good behavior, though that was revoked close to his release due to an undisclosed disciplinary issue.
However, a further review in June 2022 resulted in Tipton's parole to Texas via an offender supervision program.