Poker Pro Pleads Guilty to Mail and Wire Fraud in Betting Scheme

A 63-year-old poker pro, Cory Zeidman, pleaded guilty in Central Islip, New York, federal court in a scheme to defraud prospective sports bettors in New York and Florida with promises of inside information on sporting events and high-pressure sales tactics leading to mail and wire fraud.

Bad Advice

In a sports betting scheme that ran from 2006 to 2020, Cory Zeidman, a former Long Island, New York resident currently living in Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud by luring unsuspecting bettors into giving him money in exchange for bogus information as well as details on sporting events that were widely available on the internet.

“Our company would occasionally provide potential customers with false information regarding information that our company had about various sporting events in order to induce those customers into paying fees in exchange for sports betting advice,” Zeidman told Judge Lee Dunst during the plea hearing. “Fees the customers paid and for which I profited.”

Zeidman’s Indictment

Zeidman, who won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2012, was indicted in 2022 and faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and forfeiture and restitution of approximately $3.6 million. Zeidman’s customers were lured into the promise of winning outcomes on sporting events predicated on Zeidman’s baseless claims of corrupt officials and allegedly fixed games, along with listing “non-public” player injuries that were widely available via the team’s injury reports.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

“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.”

Raking It In

Zeidman’s betting scheme produced millions for him and his partners throughout the nearly 14 years it was operating. Unsuspecting victims of the conspiracy were led to believe their bets had little or no risks and the outcomes would lead to winning wagers.

Zeidman’s organization ran national radio campaigns under “Gordon Howard Global” and the “Ray Palmer Group” while he and his compatriots used false names and employed high-pressure tactics to extract money from their customers. The enterprise netted the conspirators millions of dollars in fees over the decades-long grift.

“The guilty plea of defendant Cory Zeidman is a reminder that crimes against our residents will not go unpunished. Numerous victims lost millions of dollars after being given fraudulent and misleading information regarding online betting.

“We need to set an example and continue to investigate and arrest offenders who commit fraud and any other crimes against our residents. I would like to thank the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Homeland Security Investigations for their assistance in this case,” stated NCPD Commissioner Ryder.