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. This episode was first published in 2021. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: iTunes.com/CriminalShow. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, members-only merch, and more. Learn more and sign up here. Listen back through our archives at youtube.com/criminalpodcast. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Well, some very exciting news happened here in Iowa last night. A $16.5 million winning hot lotto ticket was sold here in the Des Moines area.
On December 23, 2010, a $16.5 million hot lotto ticket was sold at a quick-trip gas station on the northeast side of Des Moines, Iowa. The buyer of the ticket had matched all five numbers, plus the hot lotto number. The ticket read 3-12-16-26-33 and hot ball 11. The news made local headlines all throughout the state after the numbers were drawn six days later.
The Muscatine Journal's headline read, Someone is suddenly a millionaire. But then, no one showed up with the winning ticket.
The Iowa Lottery was out there saying on a regular basis, Hey folks, check your ticket. Somebody's got 16 million bucks. And it was sort of this mystery. Why hasn't anyone come forward?
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