AUSTIN, TEXAS — A Travis County grand jury indicted former Texas Lottery Commission executive director Gary Grief on a felony abuse of office charge on April 14, 2026, according to court records. The indictment was dismissed three days later at the request of Travis County Assistant District Attorney Rob Drummond, who cited prosecutorial discretion.

The one-page indictment accused Grief of misusing government property, services, personnel, or a thing of value belonging to the government, according to court records. It alleged that he misused his position as executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission to defraud the state during the Lotto Texas drawing on April 22, 2023. That drawing carried a $95 million prize.

A Houston Chronicle investigation revealed that a group led by an overseas gambler used dozens of lottery ticket printers at four different locations to buy almost all of the 26 million possible number combinations for the drawing.

Grief resigned from the Texas Lottery Commission in February 2024, before the circumstances behind the jackpot became widely known. The Texas Legislature dissolved the commission in May 2025, following concerns over the 2023 ticket-printing scheme and the proliferation of online lottery courier companies.

The state lottery is now run by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with much of the same staff as the former commission. Since March 2025, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas attorney general's office have been investigating the Texas Lottery. Neither agency has released additional information since announcing the investigations.

In March 2026, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick charged state senators with checking on how the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has been operating the lottery.