News writer
After winning $7.5 million in a Lotto Texas draw, a man named Jerry Reed claims that the lottery actually owes him a lot more: $100 million.
Reed filed a lawsuit today in Travis County District Court, and his reasoning centers around a brazen lottery scheme that was exposed in March this year.
Why is Reed suing?
Reed won Lotto Texas on May 17, 2023, when he matched all six numbers drawn with a ticket purchased in Mansfield, Texas. He received an annuitized $7.5 million.
His lawsuit, however, goes even further back.
On the April 22, 2023 draw, several entities conspired to rig Lotto Texas. They ultimately won a $58 million one-time payout out of a $95 million jackpot.
The scheme was uncovered by the Houston Chronicle in March 2025.
Reed's lawsuit claims that, since the April draw was not legitimate, Reed should have won the rolled-over jackpot from that draw in addition to his $7.5 million.
The lawsuit states:
Had the defendants not engaged in their illegal money laundering and game-rigging scheme connected to the April 22nd draw, the $95 million jackpot would have rolled over, as there were no other winners. Consequently, Jerry Reed's May 17th jackpot win would have been $102.5 million instead of $7.5 million.
What was the scheme?
In advance of the April 22, 2023 draw, an entity called Rook TX from Scotch Plains, NJ, spent $25 million to increase the number of lottery terminals in four retail outlets that were in cahoots.
Then, within 72 hours of the draw, players used QR codes to input millions of combinations into the terminals, generating 27 million tickets. According to the Houston Chronicle, the scheme was allegedly launched by a man in Malta and involved a London betting company. The report also seemed to expose the Texas Lottery Commission for supporting the scheme by bending the rules.
“This is probably the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the State of Texas by any group,” Senator Paul Bettencourt said at a recent State Senate hearing.
Ryan Mindell, executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, told the New York Times:
“Generally speaking, if one person had a lot of money and wanted to buy as many tickets as they wanted, that doesn't violate the law,” he said. But he added: “The perception of the fairness of the game is significantly hurt.”
Texas under fire
Confidence in the Texas Lottery has been rattled more than once in the past few months.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick revealed that Jackpocket, a lottery courier app, owned the building that printed the tickets of a February $83.5 million win - the largest in Lotto Texas history. He also noted that lottery terminals were obscured from public view, which raised legislative eyebrows.
The winnings are being withheld until the issue is sorted.
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