Cory Zeidman, a professional poker player who won a bracelet at the 2012 World Series of Poker, was arrested and indicted on federal charges that include conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering on Wednesday. According to ESPN's David Purdum, the federal indictment was handed down by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The indictment alleges that Zeidman and multiple unnamed co-conspirators made more than $25 million over the past 16 years after the professional poker player spearheaded an organization that possessed privileged inside information on "fixed games" for sports betting.
According to the ESPN report, Zeidman and the others involved in the scheme "placed misleading radio ads in various U.S. markets, claiming to have a 'sophisticated white-collar approach to gathering sports information.'" That "white-collar approach" was reportedly fake.
Upon reaching out to the group, callers would be told they had to pay to get information on what Zeidman and his co-conspirators claimed were "fixed games that it received from physicians at colleges and television executives," according to ESPN. The inside information was all fake.
The allegedly fake service was referred to by multiple names, including Gordon Howard Global and Ray Palmer Group.
"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," Homeland Security Investigations New York acting special agent in charge Ricky J. Patel said in a statement.
Zeidman, 61, has amassed $690,146 in career earnings, according to Card Player.
