Listen to this articleA former Long Island resident, who made headlines as a poker professional, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Central Islip in connection to a “massive” sports-betting fraud scheme, officials said.
Cory Zeidman is a former World Series of Poker bracelet winner. Now a resident of Boca Raton, Florida, he pleaded guilty on Long Island to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud prospective sports bettors in New York and Florida. In the scheme, he had inside information on sporting events, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The yearslong scheme resulted in millions of dollars in fees from victims to Zeidman and his partners, officials said.
Now, Zeidman faces up to 20 years in prison as well as forfeiture and restitution of an estimated $3.6 million.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a news release about the guilty plea.
“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,” Peace said.
“The guilty plea of defendant Cory Zeidman is a reminder that crimes against our residents will not go unpunished,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said in the news release.
“Numerous victims lost millions of dollars after being given fraudulent and misleading information regarding online betting,” Ryder added. “We need to set an example and continue to investigate and arrest offenders who commit fraud and any other crimes against our residents.”
Court documents allege that Zeidman had helped run an organization that placed national radio ads that were aimed at attracting prospective bettors who would retain the organization for sports betting advice. Using fake names and high-pressure sales tactics, Zeidman and his partners falsely led the bettors to believe that their organization had access to non-public information. Officials say that bettors were often told that Zeidman’s organization had access to non-public player injury information and “dirty” referees, or that professional sporting events were “fixed” and that media executives’ shares predetermined outcomes with Zeidman’s organization.
Bettors were told that the organization’s information made gambling on sporting events a low or no-risk proposition. Victims were required to pay steep fees to obtain this supposedly privileged information.
But, officials said, that soc-called privileged information was fictitious or based on the conspirators’ opensource internet research.