Ex-Texas lottery director briefly indicted before dismissal
Gary Grief, former executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, was indicted by a Travis County grand jury last month for felony abuse of office before the case was dismissed three days later at the request of an assistant district attorney, court records show.
The April 14 indictment alleged Grief misused his position as executive director of the now-shuttered Texas Lottery Commission to defraud the state during the Lotto Texas drawing on April 22, 2023. That $95 million drawing was the subject of intense scrutiny after a Houston Chronicle investigation revealed that one group, led by an overseas gambler, used dozens of lottery ticket printers in four different locations to buy almost all of the 26 million possible number combinations.
The one-page indictment included no details about the allegations beyond accusing Grief of misusing “government property, services, personnel, or a thing of value belonging to the government.” Three days after the indictment was filed in district court, it was dismissed at the request of Travis County Assistant District Attorney Rob Drummond, who cited “prosecutorial discretion.” The Travis County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Grief and Sam Bassett, an attorney who previously represented Grief, also did not immediately respond to requests to comment.
Grief resigned from the lottery commission in February 2024 before the circumstances behind the Lotto Texas jackpot became widely known. The lottery commission was dissolved by the state Legislature in May 2025 amid concerns over the scheme and the proliferation of online “lottery courier” companies, some of which were involved in assisting with the mass-printing of tickets in 2023. The state’s lottery is now run by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation with much of the same staff.
The Department of Public Safety and the Texas attorney general’s office have been investigating the Texas Lottery since March 2025 but have not released any additional information since their investigations were announced. DPS did not immediately respond to questions about whether the indictment was related to its investigation.
In March, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who heavily criticized the lottery during the last legislative session, charged state senators with checking on how TDLR has been operating the Texas lottery.
