Iowa Lottery officials said the person who is the mystery winner of the Hot Lotto jackpot must come forward by Friday. They said that either this person has until 3 p.m. this Friday to claim their jackpot or the prize will be denied. Lotteries

Before doing this, the Lottery officials have already sent a letter to the trust’s lawyer who signed the ticket, Crawford Shaw, saying:

“To recommend payment of this jackpot, the security division of the lottery needs to have the following information:

“1. A timeline containing the name of the individuals who was in the Quick Trip on Northeast 14th Street in Des Moines, Iowa, purchasing the ticket and the names of all subsequent individuals who have either owned or possessed the Hot Lotto ticket that was purchased on December 23, 2010 and contained the winning jackpot numbers for the Hot Lotto drawing held on December 29, 2010.”

“2. The birthdates, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of these people. We request you provide us with the information by 3:00 p.m. CST on this Friday, January 26, 2012. You may mail the information to the lottery at 23232 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50312, fax or e-mail the documents so long as they are received at the lottery on or before this Friday … at 3:00 p.m. CST.”

“This is the first time the lottery has experienced a situation like this in its 26-year history, and we will continue to work, understanding that the security and integrity of the Iowa Lottery and its games cannot be compromised,” Lottery CEO Terry Rich said. US lottery

This announcement happens to come after investigators said that they were considering if launching a criminal probe in the case was necessary.

Lottery officials said the Division of Criminal Investigation’s gaming bureau and Iowa Attorney General’s Office are assisting in the investigation.

Eric Tabor of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office told KCCI that the AG’s role in the Hot Lotto investigation is to give advice on the law.

The DCI plans to review information related to the winning Hot Lotto ticket which basically means they would have to ask, “Has there been a crime committed or a crime attempted to be committed?”

And the reason for this is because of many strange facts that have happened since the ticket got delivered to the Lottery officials. First of all, the ticket worth at least $7.5 million cash was turned in Dec. 29, minutes before the one-year deadline. Then, it was made public that Shaw, who signed the ticket for a trust, has refused to say how he ended up with it and who would get the proceeds.

KCCI contacted lawyers at the Davis Brown Law firm who are also involved in the case. They said they have received the letter from the lottery notifying them of the Friday deadline and have given the information to Shaw. Shaw’s office told Davis Brown that it was not sure if the information that was requested by the Lottery officials could be supplied by Friday.

Yet, another strange twist in this strange story that, Lottery officials say, will finish this Friday.