A man settled a lawsuit for $4.3million (£3.46million) after discovering that the lottery games he played were rigged, as part of a larger scam orchestrated by a former IT director of a lottery company.
Dale Culler was part of a group that sued the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) because they found out that the lottery games they played were rigged.
Mr Culler spent $63 (£50.6) on tickets for two games in 2010 but didn't win anything. He believed he was cheated because a former employee had tampered with the lottery system.
Mr Culler filed a lawsuit in 2017 and eventually settled the case for $4.3million in 2019.
The settlement would refund the cost of tickets purchased between November 23, 2005, and May 23, 2013, for specific drawing dates.
A judge allowed him to seek damages on behalf of hundreds of thousands of players in January.
Mr Culler will receive a portion of the settlement for his legal fees, and the rest will be divided among other affected players.
The lottery scam was orchestrated by MSLA's former IT director, Eddie Tipton, who rigged the lottery computers and shared the winnings with his family and friends, as reported by Des Moines Register.
Tipton was accused of installing software on the random number generators used in the lottery, which allowed him to predict winning numbers on specific days of the year.
The scheme was uncovered after Tipton was caught on surveillance video buying a winning ticket worth $16 million.
The scam spanned several states and resulted in a total winning value of $24million (£19.2million).
Tipton was caught, pleaded guilty in 2017, and served five years of a 25-year prison sentence before being released on parole in July of last year.
The Multi-State Lottery Association claims that Tipton acted alone and has made security improvements since the scandal.
This lawsuit is the first potential class action to arise from the jackpot-rigging allegations, with another lawsuit filed by 'Lucky' Larry Dawson, who won a jackpot but believes it should have been larger if the prior drawing had not been rigged.
