An underground sports betting fraud scheme looks to be landing a poker pro in jail. Cory Zeidman, of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty this week in federal court for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud related to a sports betting scheme run in New York and Florida, in which he claimed to have insider information.
Prosecutors say that the scheme lasted for years and Zeidman now faces up to 20 years in prison as well as forfeiture and restitution of $3.6 million. The investigation into the case involved agents and investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security, the Postal Inspection Service, and Nassau County Police Department.
“Zeidman and his partners baited unsuspecting victims with false claims of an edge in sports betting only to feed them lies and pocket millions of dollars from their savings and retirement accounts,” said Breon Peace, with the U.S. Attorneys of the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s guilty plea sends a message to all those who would prey upon the public by falsely advertising gambling as an ‘investment opportunity’: the only sure bet here is that this office will work tirelessly to root out sources of disinformation and fraud and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
Selling Fake Insider Information
Prosecutors said Zeidman helped run an organization that placed national radio ads to lure in bettors for wagering advice. Those involved with the plan used fake names and high-pressure sales tactics, and falsely led customers to believe they had access to non-public information.
For example, bettors were often told that Zeidman’s organization had access to injury information not available to the general public. The group also claimed to be in contact with “dirty” referees and told bettors that pro sporting events were “fixed” and that media executives shared predetermined outcomes with organizers of the scheme.
“This information, the bettors were told, made gambling on sporting events a low or no-risk proposition,” authorities noted in announcing the plea deal. “Victims were required to pay exorbitant fees to obtain this supposedly privileged information which, unbeknownst to them, was fictitious or based on the conspirators’ open-source Internet research. Over the course of several years, Zeidman and his partners reaped millions in fees from victims.”
Those funds apparently gave Zeidman a bankroll to play in major poker events through the years. At the tables, he has almost $700,000 in live tournament winnings. That included scoring a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2012 after winning a $1,500 seven card stud eight-or-better tournament for $201,559.
Sports betting has seen quite a few controversies over the last few years. In July, Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a match-fixing scheme.