By: Associated Press//August 25, 2017//
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Texas businessman has been sentenced in Iowa to two years of probation and six months of home confinement for his role in a lottery scandal.
Robert Rhodes, who lives near Houston, reached a plea deal to testify against his friend, Eddie Tipton, a computer programmer at the Multi-State Lottery Association. Tipton rigged computers to make numbers predictable and gave them to Rhodes and others who won $2.2 million in jackpots from four states. A $16 million jackpot in Iowa wasn’t paid out because lottery officials grew suspicious.
Rhodes pleaded guilty to fraud in Iowa and to a computer crime in Wisconsin. The sentence on Friday resolves cases in both states.
Eddie Tipton was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 25 years in prison. His brother, Tommy Tipton, is serving a 75-day sentence in Texas.