Senate panel wants info in multi-million dollar lottery scandal

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A U.S. Senate oversight committee is demanding information about how state lotteries are increasing security in the wake of a still unfolding multi-million dollar lottery rigging scandal.

Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, says fraud allegations in lottery games raise serious concerns. Yet he says it's not clear what the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is doing to address them.

In a letter to association leaders obtained by The Associated Press, Thune says his committee wants answers to several questions by July 7.

MUSL is a non-profit that maintains security for games in 37 states.

Investigators say the association's former security director, Eddie Tipton, installed software code that allowed him to predict winning numbers on specific days of the year. An Iowa jury has convicted Tipton of rigging a $16.5 million jackpot, and he's charged with manipulating games in four other states: Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Two others also face charges in the scandal, including Tipton's younger brother, Tommy, who was charged earlier this year with participating in the alleged scheme in Colorado. And, Robert Clark Rhodes II was arrested last spring in his home state of Texas, and faces two counts of fraud in Iowa for allegedly helping Tipton rig multiple jackpot drawings.