Duo agree to testify against ex-lottery official
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Two of the three men involved in the lottery scheme to get a $1M ticket have agreed to testify against the third man involved.

Chad R. Adkins, 28, and Daniel J. Foltz, 31, both from Shelbyville, will testify against former lotto official William C. Foreman, who allegedly told them where to buy the winning ticket.

The ticket, or roll of tickets, was purchased from Otter's Grocery in Cross Plains in September of last year. When Adkins and Folz claimed their winnings, $50,000 - their first installment for a 20 year period, lottery officials recognized them as a friends of Foreman. The investigation revealed the three had scammed together after they found out where the winning ticket was located.

According to Ripley Publishing Company files, Foreman gave the men information he obtained from a reconstruction list. However, exactly how they got the information remains a mystery. The Indianapolis Star reported that Foreman refused to take a polygraph test and resigned his job on September 13, 2004. Foreman was a few months short of being able to retire from his $52,800 a year job.

The community of Cross Plains was shocked when the news began to spread about the scam. Many were disappointed that perhaps a local person could have been the real lucky winner, but were cheated out by this type of fraud. Janet Strimple, owner of Otter's Grocery told The Versailles Republican, "When you have customers buying lottery tickets every day, you'd like to see a winner in the community."

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and Hoosier Lottery Executive Director Esther Schneider personally delivered a $100,000 check to the town
of Cross Plains in March of this year. With the delivery of the check, the governor pledged increased security and heightened monitoring within the lottery to prevent these type of schemes.

According to Ripley Publishing Co. files, the governor and the lottery worked together with community leaders and the $100,000 has been placed in an endowment fund with the Ripley County Community Foundation (RCCF) where a percentage of the earning will be used to make capital improvement in Cross Plains each year. Linda Chandler, RCCF secretary noted that the money from the lottery's promotional fund will produce nearly $5,000 a year to be used to improve Cross Plains.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi noted that Adkins and Foltz will face a maximum of three years in prison and will be expected to pay back the $50,000 they split from their first installment of the prize money.

59-year-old Foreman has been charged with theft and disclosing confidential lottery information. He could face up to 50 years in prison if he is convicted.