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A former 2012 World Series of Poker bracelet winner has been arrested in connection to a sports betting scheme that cost victims a total of $25 million.
Cory Zeidman, 61, of Boca Raton, Florida, faces federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in relation to a scheme that ran from 2004 to 2020 that
"defrauded" victims and persuaded them to "drain their retirement accounts to invest in his bogus sports betting group, all so he could spend it on international vacations, a multi-million dollar residence and poker tournaments," according to a two-count federal indictment out of the U.S. District Court from the Eastern District of New York unsealed on Wednesday (May 25).
Zeidman and his unnamed co-conspirators mislead victims into paying more than $25 million with the false promise that their organization had privileged information to make betting on sports events a no-risk proposition and obtained the payments through interstate wire transfers and private commercial carriers during a 16-year span.
The group took out misleading radio ad space and promised a "sophisticated white-collar approach to gathering sports information" for the service, which was listed under the names "Gordon Howard Global" and "Ray Palmer Group."
Listeners who called-in for the service were asked to pay a fee for access for privileged information about fixed games that the group claimed came from physicians at colleges and television executives, the federal indictment stated.
"As alleged, Zeidman preyed on individuals who were led to believe he had inside information that would lead them to easy money," said Ricky J. Patel, Homeland Security Investigations New York acting special agent in charge, in a U.S. Department of Justice news release on Wednesday. "In reality, he was selling nothing but lies and misinformation -- bilking millions from victims along the way, leaving their lives in financial ruin and their bank accounts empty."