A professional poker player from Long Island provided false information to sports bettors as part of a $25 million scheme.
Cory Zeidman, 63, a native of Syosset, New York, who now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, was found guilty Wednesday of “conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud” in a bogus gambling advice ring that attracted clients across the U.S. starting in 2006. acknowledged. -20.
Zeidman and his associates allegedly claimed to have inside knowledge of “dirty referees,” match-fixing, confidential injury information, and predetermined outcomes that made bets “risk-free.”
“The Company occasionally provided false information to potential customers regarding information the Company had regarding various sporting events in order to induce customers to pay fees in exchange for sports betting advice,” Zeidman said. he told Judge Lee Dunst during a plea hearing. “I made a profit from the fees my customers paid.”
He and his co-conspirators also “ran national radio ads to entice prospective bettors to remain with the organization for sports betting advice,” the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.
“Zidman and his partners defrauded unsuspecting victims with false claims of superiority in sports betting, lied to them, and extorted millions of dollars from their savings and retirement accounts. ,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. stated in the press release. “Today's guilty plea sends a message to all those who seek to prey on the public by falsely advertising gambling as an 'investment opportunity.'
Zeidman, who won a bracelet at the 2012 World Series of Poker, agreed to pay about $3.7 million in restitution to his victims and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
