WSOP Winner Cory Zeidman Pleads Guilty to Sports Betting Fraud Scheme
Professional poker player and sports betting consultant Cory Zeidman admitted guilt in a federal court in New York on Wednesday for deceiving clients in his sports handicapping operation.
Federal prosecutors claimed that the World Series of Poker bracelet winner and his co-defendants deceived clients into paying for betting advice by asserting they had insider information, “only to provide them with falsehoods and steal millions from their savings and retirement funds.”
Zeidman, a 61-year-old resident of Boca Raton, Fla., has accumulated nearly $700,000 in total tournament earnings over his 25-year poker career. He claimed his WSOP title in 2012 in 7-card stud. Before that, he gained fame for possibly slow-rolling Jennifer Harman while having a straight flush against her full house during the 2005 WSOP main event.
Plan Produced $25 Million
Between 2004 and 2020, Zeidman's racket provided gamblers with access to "insider information" concerning player injuries, "corrupt referees," and events that were "rigged" – all of which prosecutors claim are untrue. The organization promoted its services on national radio under false names such as “Gordon Howard Global” and “Ray Palmer Group.”
When gamblers reached out to the organization possibly to participate in the scheme, they were informed that it obtained injury details from doctors and that television executives provided insights on the allegedly fixed outcomes of games. Prosecutors stated that this made sports betting a "low or no-risk venture."
According to court documents, Zeidman and his co-defendants amassed approximately $25 million in “excessive” fees from clients in return for information that “was either fabricated or sourced from an online search.”
Soon after his 2022 arrest, Zeidman informed PokerNews of his plan to plead not guilty, citing Nietzsche (the final refuge of a scoundrel?) to assert his innocence.
“In the words of Nietzsche, ‘Everything the state says is a lie and everything it has it has stolen,’” he proclaimed.
Victims Have Different Opinions
However, it was Zeidman who was lying and stealing, as per his victims, who reached out to Homeland Security regarding his operation. This contrasts with his portrayal of himself as "a person with the utmost morals and integrity," in his PokerNews speech.
"Sports bettors sought Cory Zeidman’s advice before gambling their money — but it was Zeidman himself who was scoring big through his deceptive practices, outright lies, and high-pressure tactics that exploited unsuspecting clients,” special agent Charles Walker of Homeland Security in New York said in a statement.
Zeidman admitted guilt to colluding to execute mail and wire fraud, which carries a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
