Former Texas lottery director charged in connection to $95 million jackpot win

TEXAS — The former executive director of the Texas lottery, Gary Grief, and the Texas Lottery Commission have been charged with abuse of official capacity related to a controversial jackpot win.

The indictment comes after a Houston Chronicle investigation found that a group of professional bettors purchased every possible number combination to win a $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot in April 2023. According to the Chronicle’s reporting, courier companies helped stack the odds by processing tens of millions of lottery tickets in 72 hours, and the commision helped with the venture.

Courier companies were at the heart of controversies surrounding the now-shuttered Texas Lottery Commission. Third-party lottery courier services allow users to purchase lottery tickets remotely.

The Legislature abolished the Texas Lottery Commission last year, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation took on the commission’s work. 

Before it was abolished, the commission voted to ban lottery courier services, which lead to Lotto.com, one of the top courier services in the country, suing over the ban.

Grief resigned as executive director in February 2024, a couple months before the publication of the Houston Chronicle investigation.

Sam Bassett, a lawyer for Grief, said in a statement to Spectrum News that his client “committed no crime.”

“The indictment returned by the Travis County Grand Jury is the product of politics, not facts demonstrating a crime. Gary cooperated with the Texas Ranger investigation but neither he nor his counsel had input with the Grand Jury. The Rangers had their direction from politicians searching for a scapegoat,” the statement said. “When all facts are revealed in court, the public will see that Gary’s leadership at the Lottery Commission generated millions of dollars for Texas schools and veterans and there was no crime.”

According to the Texas Tribune, a grand jury previously indicted Grief in April, but the case was dismissed three days later at the request of a Travis County assistant district attorney.