Iowa Man Steal Millions sentenced up to 25 years; Virginia man Steals tires and wheels Sentenced to 132 Years

Scribe:  Samuel Otis

Email:  Samuel@thethinkering.com

An Iowa man is being accused of stealing millions in a multistate lottery fraud. 

Computer programmer Eddie Tipton, 54, is said to be the brain behind the scandal that included a Texas Judge and a Texas businessman.  Tipton installed software that allowed him to pick winning numbers in some of the nation’s biggest lottery drawings. 

He won $16.5 million on a Hot Lotto ticket that was purchased at a Des Moines convenience store in 2010, but he was not able to anonymously collect and the scheme began to unravel.  The Judge in Texas was his brother Tommy Tipton who is serving a 75-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit theft by deception and Businessman Robert Rhodes is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. 

Tipton’s first win embolden him to launch construction on a nearly 5000 square foot house on the outskirts of Des Moines that overlooked a pond and included a movie theater and a personal gym, sitting on 22 acres.  He and his co-conspirators went on to win and claim prizes in more than six games across five states that totaled more than $2 million in winnings. 

The former computer programmer will spend up to 25 years in prison for rigging the lottery jackpots.  It’s not yet know how many years Tipton will spend in prison, however he could be paroled within three or four years according to his attorneys. 

In stark contrast a Virginia man Jason Brooks, 38, has been convicted and sentenced in a tire and wheel theft ring and has been sentenced to a total of 132 years in prison, 63 months in jail and $6,000 in restitution. 

Tipton will also have to pay back $3m in restitution the contrasting cases bring to question the fairness of the criminal justice system.  Maybe Brooks will be pardoned by President Donald Trump who is willing to sacrifice the courts and the law to do what he wants.   If he is not pardoned, he will be 169 years old when released from custody.  Once he is a free man he will have to repay the $6,000 worth of tires and wheels that he stole.