Former Lottery.com Officials Face SEC Complaint Over Lotto Texas Controversy

The Texas Lottery is the gift that keeps on giving.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil complaint accusing several former Lottery.com executives of defrauding investors. Two of those named played roles in the Rook TX lottery operation that took down a $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot in April 2023.

The SEC complaint names Lottery.com founder and former CEO Tony DiMatteo, former Chief Financial Officer Ryan Dickinson, former Chief Revenue Officer Matthew Clemenson, and associate Vadim Komissarov. As reported by the Chronicle, the agency alleges the men used fake transactions to inflate the company’s reported revenue, while attempting to expand into the lottery courier business. The SEC is seeking unspecified financial penalties.

None of the defendants have filed responses to the civil complaint. However, Dickinson and Clemenson have already pleaded guilty to related federal criminal charges tied to the same conduct, with sentencing scheduled for April.

The SEC case is notable not only for the alleged investor fraud, but for those being charged. According to the Chronicle, both DiMatteo and Dickinson were directly involved in the Rook TX operation.

$57.8 million — guaranteed

The Rook TX effort was organized by London-based betting entrepreneur Bernard Marantelli. Ahead of the April 2023 Lotto Texas drawing, Marantelli and his group arranged to purchase virtually all 25.8 million possible six-number combinations, basically guaranteeing winning the top prize.

The plan was successful. Rook TX emerged as the sole winning ticket holder and collected a $57.8 million lump-sum payout.

The plan did require a large logistical effort. Over the 72 hours leading up to the drawing, teams worked continuously at four state-licensed retail locations to process millions of tickets. Two of those sites were affiliated with Lottery.com, the Chronicle reported. At one point, an Uber driver was enlisted to help staff keep up with demand.

And the operation could not have moved forward without advance approval from the Texas Lottery Commission.

Lottery.com Chief Operating Officer Greg Potts told legislators that company executives contacted then-Texas Lottery Director Gary Grief to seek clearance for the mass purchase. DiMatteo served as the middle man, the Chronicle reported.

“We fully expected that they would laugh at us and say, ‘Well, no, of course you can’t do this,'” Potts testified. “We were very surprised that the answer was yes.”

Grief has denied the contact, the Chronicle reported.

The Chronicle also reported that DiMatteo requested nearly a dozen additional lottery terminals and large amounts of ticket paper for Lottery.com-affiliated retail sites in Austin and Waco, far more than typical retailers receive. The commission approved the request without objection.

Dickinson, though no longer formally working for Lottery.com, was on-site in Austin during the operation and allegedly helped process tickets.

Irregular, improper, illegal

The SEC filing has renewed scrutiny of Lottery.com’s regulatory history. The company’s public filings as early as 2022 disclosed financial irregularities, improper lottery sales, and ongoing federal investigations.

An internal audit revealed Lottery.com violated state and federal law by selling lottery tickets in one state, while processing them in Texas. At a June 2022 board meeting, one director said the company was “breaking the law in 42 different ways.”

Lottery.com has since sought to distance itself from its former leadership. In filings cited by the Chronicle, the company said its current management team was not involved in the alleged misconduct and has fully cooperated with investigators.

The fallout has already been significant. Texas lawmakers voted last year to abolish the 32-year-old Texas Lottery Commission, transferring oversight to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate the April 2023 draw last February, while Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a separate probe.

Neither agency has released findings.