Criminal

Black and white illustration showing lottery tickets piling up at the bottom of the frame, with more tickets floating down to meet them.

Hot Lotto

Episode #160

2021-03-12 13:02:33

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In 2010, a $16.5 million Hot Lotto ticket was sold at a gas station in Des Moines, Iowa. At first, no one showed up to claim the prize. And then, a series of lawyers tried to claim the money on behalf of a client they would not name. Things got stranger, and eventually investigators uncovered what has been called the biggest lottery fraud in U.S. history.

We speak with Iowa’s state Auditor, Rob Sand, and with Ed Stefan, who spent years working at the Multi State Lottery Association.