
Welfare recipients have allegedly been gambling on someone else’s buck in Florida through the use of EBT cards at underground gaming facilities.
Welfare recipients in Tallahassee, Florida, have purportedly been using their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to buy, 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 were arrested on charges of racketeering, cash laundering, welfare card fraud, and gambling that is illegal.
Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood claims the operation netted the ringleaders hundreds of thousands of dollars in ill-gotten gains.
Wondwossen Gizaw-Tessema, 57, Eyerusalem Hiluf, 31, Firehiwot Gebre, 35, and Christabel Ekhosuehi, 29, had been apprehended by Leon County, aided by the first three accused of being the ringleaders of the enterprise that is multi-venue.
According to a news release, the Wondu Marathon Convenience Store, Euro Fashions Boutique, One Stop College Market, Pretty Game Boutique, and Belen Mart businesses were all used as gambling enterprises and EBT exchange centers.
Down with EBT
Law enforcement believes Gizaw-Tessema ended up being the boss regarding the procedure, as he owns many of the organizations involved in the band. Leon County described the gambling that is illegal to be similar to slots, in that players simply deposited cash, hit a button, and won or lost.
A complete 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 purchasing alcoholic beverages, nor can the funds be spent 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 cash as a swap for typical crucial household supplies. He allegedly provided Costco and Sam’s Club shopping lists to EBT cardholders, and when the welfare recipients returned using the items, they were paid by him 50 cents regarding the dollar for the items.
With cash in hand, many ‘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. January Financial records show Gizaw-Tessema deposited a total of $1.4 million to four bank accounts dating back to.
EBT Gambling
The story out of Tallahassee is definitely not the very first time EBT monies have been used to gamble.
A 2010 audit in Ca revealed that $1.8 million in welfare funds had been spent at gambling enterprises. And in Seattle, a neighborhood news place investigation in 2013 found that $2 million of EBT money ended up being 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 store, any casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment.’ However, the federal law doesn’t explicitly mandate that states follow the guidelines.
Many state lawmakers have obliged.
Only two states, Minnesota and Texas, do not have any regulations preventing EBT money from used for gambling. Minnesota does ban EBT cards from tobacco and alcohol purchases, while Texas doesn’t have regulations on what a person’s welfare money is spent.
US Open Match-Fixing Scandal Once Again Plagues Tennis
The usa Open match-fixing scandal in nyc has once again place the sport front and center into the media, with experts calling the game’s integrity into question.
Irregular patterns that are betting 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 Graphics)
On August 30, 15th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland beat Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko in straight sets. But after a 6-1, 6-1 match, tennis’ governing human body was asked to probe the contest.
The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), formed in 2008 by the leading tennis organizations around the globe, is investigating whether improper agreements were made prior to Bacsinszky and Diatchenko’s match.
Russian online bookmaker Fonbet had been apparently the first to notify tennis over suspicious patterns that are betting. Bet365 filed grievances that are similar said it was forced to suspend betting regarding the match.
‘ As with all cases, the TIU will assess, make a judgment and take action that is appropriate the alert information gotten and obtained for the first round singles match between Vitalia Diatchenko and Timea Bacsinszky played at the US Open,’ the TIU said in a declaration. ‘ Every alert received is followed and assessed up as an indicator that something inappropriate might have occurred. It really is crucial to appreciate that the alert by itself is not proof of match-fixing.’
Integrity Device Win
Corruption has unfortunately beleaguered the sport of tennis for decades, but the 2016 US open match-fixing scandal could have long-term impact that is positive. That’s because the match in question appears to go against all conventional match-fixing wisdom.
In the place of an unranked or lower-seeded opponent pulling off an upset at insurmountable odds, Bacsinszky, the 16th-ranked player in the world, did precisely what she ended up being designed to do. Bacsinszky won is straight sets, but regardless, the betting houses detected irregularities.
Bacsinszky won a silver medal in doubles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, while Diatchenko is ranked 677th on earth.
Bacsinszky ended up being a -425 favorite at Bovada, meaning one would have to bet $425 to win $100. However in tennis, because may be the case with certain other activities, in-play betting has grown in popularity offshore.
Numerous side bets are offered on tennis including set scores, total matches in a game, very first to win a collection, total sets, and more.
Numerous believe tennis match-fixing corruption mainly occurs during lower-level matches where never as numerous eyes are watching. However, fewer bets may also be typically put on non-marquee games, which makes it that more difficult to conceal activity that is fraudulent.
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Sports Betting Adore
The TIU has had a busy 2016. In the quarter that is first, the agency ended up being notified 48 times over dubious gambling patterns.
The many tennis that is notable to be engulfed in sports betting is present number one Novak Djokovic. In 2007, the 12-time Grand Slam winner said he was approached by way of a bookie and offered $200,000 to lose a first-round match.
At the Open that is australian had been suspended on a blended doubles match, however the TIU later on stated it found no evidence of match-fixing.
A 2007 game between Martin Arguello and Nikolay Davydenko brought tennis match-fixing towards the limelight. Arguello, rated 87th in the world during the time, won the match when Davydenko that is fourth-ranked withdrew an injury.
Alleged Mob Kingpin Joey Merlino Banned from All Pennsylvania Gambling Enterprises
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 become the relative mind of the Philadelphia Mob, happens to be 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 that he had been arrested in early August along side 46 mob that is alleged, soldiers and capos, and accused of being one of the ringleaders of an unlawful kingdom referred to as East Coast La Cosa Nostra Enterprise.
Skinny Joey and his associates happen charged, variously, with illegal gambling, extortion, gun-running, fraud, good racketeering that is old-fashioned along with other crimes. He is currently out on $5 million bail as he awaits trial.
Blackjack Fracas
The PGCB stated that it began its investigation following an incident during the Sugarhouse blackjack tables when Merlino and his entourage dropped in to a disagreement with some other players.
According to documents seen by Fox News, things got heated and punches that are several thrown before security broke up the battle. Merlino apparently then shook hands with certainly one of the opposing group and left.
When he returned to the same casino the following thirty days, he was met by PGCB agents whom attempted to serve him with an exclusion order, but he brushed them off and walked out.
Agents again attempted to serve him the order as he appeared at Harrahs Casino in Chester, and were again waved away by the reputed gangster.
‘We attempted to serve him at their restaurant, his house, at Harrah’s, at SugarHouse,’ said board spokesman Doug Harbach. ‘It’s a permanent ban he must be taken out of record. unless he petitions the board to be removed and provides the board with ample reason why’
Wiseguy Sting
The arrests month that is last as the outcome of a joint investigation between the FBI and New York’s arranged crime task force and is thought to have spanned many years and involved infiltration by an undercover FBI agent into the ranks of the organization.
Investigators say they have collected tens of thousands of hours of testimonies gathered through wiretaps and the cooperation of a witness. The 32-page indictment unsealed last month details incidents of assaults, threats and arson.
Merlino has beaten murder costs within the past, but has served prison time for racketeering. He had been barred from all Atlantic City gambling enterprises.
Quebec Regulator Accuses Ex-Amaya Chief David Baazov of Taking Kickbacks
It’s been a year that is rough David Baazov. The former boy that is golden primary executive officer of Canada’s Amaya Inc., was charged by Quebec’s monetary 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 costs that he profited from an enhanced insider trading scheme by receiving ten percent kickbacks for leaking information that is privileged. (Image: YouTube.com)
Nevertheless now, a bombshell that is new been lobbied at the ex-leader: that of taking kickbacks in return for information, as outlined by the AMF. Based on court documents filed by the regulator, Baazov had been the head of an insider trading ‘pyramid’ and took kickbacks for dripping information that is privileged a ‘sophisticated system.’
The network, the AMF contends, contains his brother, some continuing company acquaintances, and other family and friends members.
Baazov engineered one the most audacious takeovers in gambling history, the $4.9 billion purchase of PokerStars by Amaya. But he formally resigned final month as CEO and chairman of the company he transformed into one of the primary online gambling players on earth.
Now he faces new allegations, presented this week in documents, which would be the outcome of an investigation that is continued the AMF on the spring and summer. The regulator alleges that Baazov was the primary source of leaked information that had been disseminated through his brother, Josh Baazov, and their associate, Craig Levett, a former amaya consultant.
Ten Percent Kickbacks
It also alleges that these three took kickbacks due to their services, typically amounting to 10 percent of most profits gained, and that included ‘luxury items’ presented as gifts, including a Rolex watch worth $13,000. The AMF alleges that the terms were ‘negotiated before the offenses,’ and that the combined group showed a ‘high amount of organization and elegance’ in its operations.
The regulator says the combined group, consisting of 13 people, made around $1.5 million in make money from trading stocks just before at least six takeover deals, returning to Amaya’s purchase of Cryptologic this season.
Amaya has had a m&a that is ambitious within the last six years, acquiring Chartwell, Ongame, Cadillac Jack, and Diamond Game Enterprises, along with Cryptologic plus the Oldford Group, which owned PokerStars. Two acquisitions under scrutiny were unrelated to Amaya: Scientific Games’ purchase of WMS and Intertain’s acquisition Gamesys’ major assets.
Baazov Denial
Based on the AMF, members associated with group had been still attempting to benefit from Baazov’s bid to acquire Amaya and take it private, a move that has been announced in January in 2010, long after the AMF research had been launched.
‘Mr. Baazov has been categorical: he would not 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 eager 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 completely from his professional positions inside the ongoing business, he remains its majority shareholder.
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