An Evansdale woman’s $30,000 prize is at the center of a lottery fraud investigation.

Sandra Jean Crow, 63, turned in a winning Candy Cane Crossword scratch ticket at the Iowa Lottery’s regional office in Cedar Rapids.

The ticket had been purchased for $3 at the Kwik Star on Fletcher Avenue in Waterloo.

Now authorities allege Crow wasn’t the actual owner of the winning ticket, and she served as a straw man to shield the real winner.

The person who bought the crossword lottery ticket, according to court records, was Alvin Hans Larsen III, Crow’s roommate.

Larsen, 45, allegedly didn’t want to claim the money himself because he feared the winnings would be applied to outstanding debts and liens  including $919 he owed to the city of Evansdale and he only would get what was left, according to records.

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