Former LIer allegedly bilked investors in massive sports betting scheme

A former Long Island man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly bilking people out of tens of millions of dollars through a massive fraudulent sports betting scheme.

Cory Zeidman was arrested in Florida and was to make his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in Miami, according to Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and other officials.

A two-count indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court charging Zeidman with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

He allegedly operated the sports betting fraud scheme from Long Island and Florida, convincing people he had inside information that would help them win bets, officials said.

The attorney representing Zeidman could not be immediately reached.

“As alleged, Zeidman defrauded his victims, stole their life savings 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,” Peace said.

“Today’s indictment serves as a reminder to all of us to be wary of so-called investment opportunities that purport to have inside information, as they are really a gamble not worth taking,” he said.

Zeidman’s organization placed national radio advertisements to lure victims for sports betting advice, officials said.

The victims were led to believe Zeidman had privileged information that made betting on sporting events a no-risk proposition, officials said. The victims “were required to pay a fee to obtain this information which, unbeknownst to them, was either fictitious or obtained from an internet search by defendant and his co-conspirators. Many victims lost their life savings,” Peace’s office said in a statement.

Zeidman allegedly “preyed on individuals who were led to believe he had inside information that would lead them to easy money," said Ricky J. Patel, a Homeland Security Investigations New York acting special agent in charge. “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.”

He said that “fraudsters” like Zeidman “finance their lavish lifestyles by concocting ways to bamboozle the innocent when their only real goal is lining their pockets with ill-gotten cash.”

Zeidman used a number of aliases, officials said: Richard Barnes, Walter Barr, Mr. Carlyle, Ray Palmer, Rick Cash, Elliot Stern, Gordon Howard, David Coates, Simon Coates, Paul Knox, Mark Lewis, Joel Orenstein and Steve Nash. Some of the company names he used were Gordon Howard Global, Ray Palmer Group and Grant Sports International.

Daniel Brubaker, United States postal inspector in charge, said Zeidman “devised a criminal scheme to fatten his pockets using nothing more than people’s love for sports and his clever words wrapped around a fraud. Postal Inspectors remind investors to thoroughly review all investment offers to ensure they are not left with a line of empty promises and a drained bank account.”

Officials said that anyone who believed they may have been the victim of the scheme should contact Homeland Security Investigations at 866-347-2423.