Still searching for the mystery owner of a Hot Lotto ticket that bagged a $14 million Hot Lotto jackpot in 2010, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has released a video of the ticket being purchased.
The DCI made the CCTV footage public during a news conference on Thursday, October 9.
The video shows a hooded man purchasing the winning ticket from a gas station at Des Moines, Iowa, in December 2010.
DCI Assistant Director Dave Jobes said: "We have no reason to believe that the original ticket purchaser has done anything illegal at this point. We simply don't know who they are. We don't know if they’re a victim, we don't know if they’re a participant, we just don't know at this point."
Suspicions originally arose when a New York attorney visited the Iowa Lottery just hours before the ticket was due to expire and tried to claim the prize on behalf of a client. When lottery officials asked for more information about the winner the lawyer withdrew his claim and was never seen again.
DCI officials state the footage was not previously released because it was believed it may jeopardize their investigation.
According to Jobes the DCI has categorized the case as a fraud investigation and, despite following up leads all over the US and Canada, they have been unable to track down the person or persons involved in the attempt to cash the ticket.
"The investigation has simply reached a point where now is the appropriate time to do this [release the video]," Jobes said.
