Welfare recipients have actually allegedly been gambling on another person’s buck in Florida by making use of EBT cards at underground gaming facilities.
Welfare recipients in Tallahassee, Florida, have purportedly been using their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to purchase, among other things, alcohol and tobacco, and in addition used the funds to gamble.
A multi-agency investigation led by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office in Tallahassee has identified 132 suspects involved in a gambling that is illegal fraud scheme. Four local residents in Leon County happen arrested on charges of racketeering, cash laundering, welfare card fraudulence, and gambling that is illegal.
Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood states the operation netted the ringleaders hundreds of 1000s of dollars in ill-gotten gains.
Wondwossen Gizaw-Tessema, 57, Eyerusalem Hiluf, 31, Firehiwot Gebre, 35, and Christabel Ekhosuehi, 29, were apprehended by Leon County, utilizing the first three accused of being the ringleaders of the multi-venue enterprise.
According up to a press release, the Wondu Marathon Convenience Store, Euro Fashions Boutique, One Stop university Market, Pretty Game Boutique, and Belen Mart businesses were all used as gambling enterprises and EBT exchange centers.
Down with EBT
Legislation enforcement believes Gizaw-Tessema had been the boss of the procedure, as he owns a number of the companies included in the ring. Leon County described the illegal gambling machines to be just like slots, in that players simply deposited cash, hit a button, and won or lost.
A total of 24 machines were apprehended from the Sheriff’s Office raids that took place in after obtaining search warrants july.
Issued by the Florida Department of Children and Families, EBT cards cannot be properly used to buy alcoholic beverages, nor can the funds be invested in bars, liquor stores, adult activity venues, or pari-mutuel or gambling facilities.
Gizaw-Tessema created a nifty solution to the EBT regulations by providing money in trade for typical essential household supplies. He allegedly gave Costco and Sam’s Club shopping lists to EBT cardholders, and when the welfare recipients returned utilizing the items, they were paid by him 50 cents in the dollar for the goods.
With cash in hand, numerous ‘customers’ are suspected of trying to recoup their losses on Gizaw-Tessema’s video gaming machines.
Detectives estimate the EBT operation pulled in upwards of $1,000 a day. Financial records show Gizaw-Tessema deposited an overall total of $1.4 million to four bank accounts dating straight back to January.
EBT Gambling
The story out of Tallahassee is certainly not the very first time EBT monies have been used to gamble.
A 2010 review in California revealed that $1.8 million in welfare funds were spent at gambling enterprises. And in Seattle, a news that is local investigation in 2013 discovered that $2 million of EBT money was gambled with at Washington casinos.
Congress encouraged states in 2012 issuing welfare money to ‘maintain policies and practices’ that prevent wasteful spending by recipients in ‘any liquor shop, any casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment.’ However, the law that is federaln’t clearly mandate that states follow the rules.
Many state lawmakers have obliged.
Only two states, Minnesota and Texas, myfreepokies.com don’t have any regulations preventing EBT money from getting used for gambling. Minnesota does ban EBT cards from alcohol and tobacco purchases, while Texas doesn’t have regulations on how a person’s welfare money is spent.
US Start Match-Fixing Scandal Once Again Plagues Tennis
The US Open match-fixing scandal in ny has once put the sport again front and center into the media, with experts calling the sport’s integrity into question.
Irregular wagering habits on Vitalia Diatchenko (in yellow) and Timea Bacsinszky’s first-round US Open match have returned tennis match-fixing to the headlines. (Image: Alex Goodlett/Getty Photos)
On August 30, 15th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland beat Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko in right sets. But after a 6-1, 6-1 match, tennis’ governing body was asked to probe the contest.
The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), formed in 2008 by the tennis that is leading around the globe, is investigating whether improper agreements were made prior to Bacsinszky and Diatchenko’s match.
Russian online bookmaker Fonbet ended up being reportedly the first to ever notify tennis over suspicious patterns that are betting. Bet365 filed grievances that are similar said it absolutely was forced to suspend betting on the match.
‘ As with every cases, the TIU will assess, create a judgment and take action that is appropriate the alert information received and obtained for the first round singles match between Vitalia Diatchenko and Timea Bacsinszky played at the US Open,’ the TIU said in a statement. ‘ Every alert received is assessed and followed up as an indicator that something inappropriate could have happened. It really is essential to appreciate that an alert by itself isn’t evidence of match-fixing.’
Integrity Unit Win
Corruption has unfortunately beleaguered the sport of tennis for decades, but the 2016 US open match-fixing scandal could have a long-term good impact. That’s because the match in concern appears to go against all conventional wisdom that is match-fixing.
Rather than an unranked or lower-seeded opponent pulling off an upset at insurmountable chances, Bacsinszky, the 16th-ranked player in the globe, did exactly what she ended up being expected to do. Bacsinszky won is sets that are straight but regardless, the betting houses detected irregularities.
Bacsinszky won a silver medal in increases at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, while Diatchenko is rated 677th on the planet.
Bacsinszky was a -425 favorite at Bovada, meaning one would need to bet $425 to win $100. But in tennis, because may be the situation with certain other sports, in-play wagering has exploded in popularity overseas.
Numerous part wagers are offered on tennis including set scores, total matches in a game, first to win a collection, total sets, and more.
Many believe tennis match-fixing corruption mostly occurs during lower-level matches where much less numerous eyes are watching. However, fewer bets may also be typically placed on non-marquee games, making it that more challenging to conceal activity that is fraudulent.
Sports Betting Prefer
The TIU has had a busy 2016. In the very first quarter alone, the agency ended up being notified 48 times over dubious gambling patterns.
The many tennis that is notable to be engulfed in sports wagering is current number 1 Novak Djokovic. In 2007, the 12-time Grand Slam winner said he was approached by a bookie and offered $200,000 to lose a first-round match.
During the Open that is australian was suspended on a mixed doubles match, but the TIU later on stated it found no proof of match-fixing.
A 2007 game between Martin Arguello and Nikolay Davydenko brought tennis match-fixing to the limelight. Arguello, ranked 87th on earth during the time, won the match whenever fourth-ranked Davydenko withdrew citing an injury.
Alleged Mob Kingpin Joey Merlino Banned from All Pennsylvania Casinos
Ba-da-bing! Joey ‘Skinny Joey’ Merlino banned from Pennsylvania’s 12 casino hotspots. (Image: Miami Herald)
Joey Merlino, the man who the FBI believes to be the head of the Philadelphia Mob, was banned from entering the state’s 12 casinos. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) voted unanimously this to designate ‘Skinny Joey’ persona non grata, after an altercation at the Sugarhouse Casino in March week.
That, and the fact he had been arrested in very early August along side 46 alleged mob associates, soldiers and capos, and accused of being among the ringleaders of a criminal empire referred to as East Coast La Cosa Nostra Enterprise.
Skinny Joey and their associates are charged, variously, with illegal gambling, extortion, gun-running, fraud, good racketeering that is old-fashioned along with other crimes. He could be currently out on $5 million bail as he awaits trial.
Blackjack Fracas
The PGCB stated so it began its investigation following an incident at the Sugarhouse blackjack tables when Merlino and his entourage fell as a disagreement with various other players.
According to documents seen by Fox Information, things got heated and several punches were thrown before security broke up the battle. Merlino apparently then shook hands with certainly one of the group that is opposing left.
When he returned to the same casino the following thirty days, he was met by PGCB agents who attempted to serve him with an exclusion order, but he brushed them off and moved out.
Agents again attempted to serve him your order when he appeared at Harrahs Casino in Chester, and were again waved away by the reputed gangster.
‘We attempted to serve him at his restaurant, his home, at Harrah’s, at SugarHouse,’ said board spokesman Doug Harbach. ‘It’s a permanent ban he must be taken off the list. unless he petitions the board to be removed and offers the board with ample reason why’
Wiseguy Sting
The arrests last month came as the consequence of a joint research between your FBI and ny’s arranged crime task force and is thought to own spanned many years and involved infiltration by the undercover FBI agent into the ranks of this organization.
Investigators say they have actually collected a huge number of hours of testimonies collected through wiretaps and the cooperation of a witness. The indictment that is 32-page last month details incidents of assaults, threats and arson.
Merlino has beaten murder charges within the past, but has served prison time for racketeering. He had been barred from all Atlantic City casinos.
Quebec Regulator Accuses Ex-Amaya Chief David Baazov of Taking Kickbacks
It is been a year that is rough David Baazov. The former golden child and primary executive officer of Canada’s Amaya Inc., ended up being charged by Quebec’s economic regulatory arm, the AMF, of insider trading. He first took a temporary leave, and then finally stepped down, from his executive duties at the gaming company although he has denied all the charges vehemently.
David Baazov denies the charges that he profited from a classy insider trading scheme by getting 10 % kickbacks for leaking information that is privileged. (Image: YouTube.com)
But now, a bombshell that is new been lobbied during the ex-leader: that of taking kickbacks in exchange for information, as reported by the AMF. According to court documents filed by the regulator, Baazov ended up being the head of an insider trading ‘pyramid’ and took kickbacks for leaking information that is privileged a ‘sophisticated system.’
The network, the AMF contends, consisted of his brother, some company acquaintances, and other friends and family members.
Baazov engineered one the most audacious takeovers in gambling history, the $4.9 billion acquisition of PokerStars by Amaya. But he formally resigned final month as CEO and chairman of the company he transformed into one of the biggest online gambling players on earth.
Now he faces new allegations, presented this week in court papers, which will be the outcome of an investigation that is continued the AMF throughout the spring and summer. The regulator alleges that Baazov was the main source of leaked information that was disseminated through his sibling, Josh Baazov, and their associate, Craig Levett, A amaya that is former consultant.
Ten Percent Kickbacks
It also alleges why these three took kickbacks due to their services, typically amounting to ten percent of most profits gained, and that included ‘luxury items’ presented as gifts, including a Rolex view worth $13,000. The AMF alleges that the terms had been ‘negotiated before the offenses,’ and that the team revealed a ‘high degree of organization and sophistication’ in its operations.
The regulator says the team, consisting of 13 people, made around $1.5 million in make money from trading stocks just before at least six takeover deals, going back to Amaya’s purchase of Cryptologic in 2010.
Amaya has had a m&a that is ambitious over the past six years, acquiring Chartwell, Ongame, Cadillac Jack, and Diamond Game Enterprises, also Cryptologic plus the Oldford Group, which owned PokerStars. Two acquisitions under scrutiny had been unrelated to Amaya: Scientific Games’ purchase of WMS and Intertain’s acquisition Gamesys’ major assets.
Baazov Denial
In line with the AMF, members for the group were still attempting to make money from Baazov’s bid to get Amaya and take it private, a move that was announced in this year, long after the AMF investigation had been launched january.
‘Mr. Baazov has been categorical: he didn’t receive any such thing,’ his spokesman Ian Robertson told the Financial Post via email. ‘As Mr. Baazov has previously stated, he is innocent of any wrongdoing and wanting to present his defense,’ Robertson added.
On Wednesday, Baazov’s attorney previously filed a notice contesting the allegations that are new. While retired CEO has resigned forever from their professional positions inside the company, he stays its majority shareholder.