
Welfare recipients have actually allegedly been gambling on someone else’s dollar in Florida simply by using EBT cards at underground gaming facilities.
Welfare recipients in Tallahassee, Florida, have purportedly been utilizing their benefit that is electronic transferEBT) 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 with a gambling that is illegal fraud scheme. Four local residents in Leon County have already been arrested on charges of racketeering, cash laundering, welfare card fraudulence, and unlawful gambling.
Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood claims 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, had been apprehended by Leon County, using the first three accused of being the ringleaders of the multi-venue enterprise.
According to a pr 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 was the employer for the operation, as he owns many of the businesses involved in the band. Leon County described the gambling that is illegal as being just like slots, for the reason that players simply deposited money, hit a button, and won or lost.
A complete of 24 machines were pokies aristocrat free dolphin treasure slots apprehended from the Sheriff’s Office raids that occurred in after obtaining search warrants july.
Issued by the Florida Department of Children and Families, EBT cards cannot be utilized to buy alcoholic beverages, nor can the funds be spent in bars, liquor stores, adult entertainment venues, or pari-mutuel or gambling facilities.
Gizaw-Tessema created a solution that is nifty the EBT regulations by providing cash as a swap for typical important family supplies. He allegedly provided Costco and Sam’s Club shopping lists to EBT cardholders, and when the welfare recipients returned using the items, he paid them 50 cents on the dollar for the products.
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 taken 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 certainly maybe not the first time EBT monies have been used to gamble.
A 2010 audit in Ca unveiled that $1.8 million in welfare funds were spent at casinos. Plus in Seattle, a news that is local investigation in 2013 found 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 federal legislation doesn’t clearly mandate that states follow the guidelines.
Most state lawmakers have obliged.
Only two states, Minnesota and Texas, don’t have any regulations EBT that is preventing money used for gambling. Minnesota does ban EBT cards from tobacco and alcohol purchases, while Texas doesn’t have regulations on what one’s welfare money is spent.
US Start Match-Fixing Scandal Once Again Plagues Tennis
The usa Open match-fixing scandal in nyc has once again put the sport front and center into the media, with experts calling the game’s integrity into question.
Irregular gambling 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 Images)
On August 30, 15th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland beat Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko in right sets. But after having a 6-1, 6-1 match, tennis’ governing human anatomy was asked to probe the contest.
The Tennis Integrity product (TIU), formed in 2008 by the leading tennis organizations around the world, is investigating whether improper agreements were made prior to Bacsinszky and Diatchenko’s match.
Russian online bookmaker Fonbet was reportedly the first to ever inform 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 all cases, the TIU will assess, make 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 declaration. ‘ Every alert received is assessed and followed up as an indicator that something inappropriate could have occurred. It’s important to understand that an alert on its own isn’t proof 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 impact that is positive. That’s because the match in question appears to get against all traditional match-fixing wisdom.
As opposed to an unranked or opponent that is lower-seeded off an upset at insurmountable chances, Bacsinszky, the 16th-ranked player in the globe, did exactly what she was expected to do. Bacsinszky won is sets that are straight but regardless, the betting houses detected irregularities.
Bacsinszky won a silver medal in doubles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, while Diatchenko is rated 677th on the planet.
Bacsinszky was a -425 favorite at Bovada, meaning one will have to bet $425 to win $100. However in tennis, because could be the situation with specific other sports, in-play wagering is continuing to grow in popularity overseas.
Numerous side wagers are offered on tennis including set scores, total matches in a game, first to win a collection, total sets, and more.
Numerous believe tennis match-fixing corruption mainly occurs during lower-level matches where never as many eyes are watching. However, fewer bets may also be typically put on non-marquee games, making it that more challenging to conceal fraudulent activity.
Sports Betting Appreciate
The TIU has had a busy 2016. In the first quarter alone, the agency was notified 48 times over dubious gambling patterns.
The many tennis that is notable to be engulfed in sports wagering is present 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 match that is first-round.
During the Open that is australian ended up being suspended on a blended doubles match, nevertheless the TIU later said it discovered no proof of match-fixing.
A 2007 game between Martin Arguello and Nikolay Davydenko brought tennis match-fixing to your limelight. Arguello, ranked 87th in the world during the time, won the match whenever 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 head of the Philadelphia Mob, is prohibited 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 was arrested in very early August along with 46 mob that is alleged, soldiers and capos, and accused to be one of the ringleaders of an unlawful empire known as the East Coast La Cosa Nostra Enterprise.
Skinny Joey and their associates happen charged, variously, with illegal gambling, extortion, gun-running, fraud, good old-fashioned racketeering, as well as other crimes. He could be currently out on $5 million bail as he awaits trial.
Blackjack Fracas
The PGCB said so it began its investigation following an incident during the Sugarhouse blackjack tables when Merlino and his entourage dropped into a disagreement with some other players.
According to documents seen by Fox Information, things got heated and punches that are several thrown before protection broke up the battle. Merlino apparently then shook hands with one of the opposing group and left.
He was met by PGCB agents who attempted to serve him with an exclusion order, but he brushed them off and walked out when he returned to the same casino the following month.
Agents again attempted to serve him the 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 house, at Harrah’s, at SugarHouse,’ stated board spokesman Doug Harbach. ‘It’s a permanent ban unless he petitions the board to be eliminated and provides the board with ample reason why he should be taken from the list.’
Wiseguy Sting
The arrests month that is last as the result of a joint research between your FBI and ny’s arranged crime task force and is believed to own spanned a long period and involved infiltration by an undercover FBI agent into the ranks associated with the company.
Investigators say they have actually collected thousands 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 fees into 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 is been a rough 12 months for David Baazov. The former boy that is golden primary executive officer of Canada’s Amaya Inc., had been 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 costs that he profited from a classy insider trading scheme by receiving 10 percent kickbacks for leaking privileged information. (Image: YouTube.com)
But now, a bombshell that is new been lobbied during the ex-leader: that of taking kickbacks in return for information, as reported 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 privileged information to a ‘sophisticated community.’
The network, the AMF contends, contains his brother, some business acquaintances, and other relatives and buddies members.
Baazov engineered one the most takeovers that are audacious gambling history, the $4.9 billion purchase of PokerStars by Amaya. But he formally resigned month that is last CEO and chairman of the company he transformed into one of the greatest online gambling players in the world.
Now he faces new allegations, presented this week in court papers, which would be the results of a continued investigation by the AMF within the spring and summer. The regulator alleges that Baazov had been the primary supply of leaked information that had been disseminated through his cousin, Josh Baazov, and their associate, Craig Levett, a former amaya consultant.
Ten Percentage Kickbacks
It also alleges why these three took kickbacks due to their services, typically amounting to 10 % 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 had been ‘negotiated before the offenses,’ and that the combined group showed a ‘high degree of organization and sophistication’ in its operations.
The regulator says the group, consisting of 13 people, made around $1.5 million in benefit from trading stocks just before at minimum six takeover deals, going back to Amaya’s acquisition of Cryptologic this season.
Amaya has had a ambitious m&a strategy over the past six years, acquiring Chartwell, Ongame, Cadillac Jack, and Diamond Game Enterprises, in addition to Cryptologic and also 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 profit from Baazov’s bid to get Amaya and take it private, a move which was announced in January in 2010, long after the AMF investigation had been launched.
‘Mr. Baazov has been categorical: he failed to receive anything,’ his spokesman Ian Robertson told the Financial Post via e-mail. ‘As Mr. Baazov has previously stated, he is innocent of any wrongdoing and desperate to present his defense,’ Robertson added.
On Wednesday, Baazov’s lawyer formerly filed a notice contesting the allegations that are new. While retired CEO has resigned permanently from their professional positions inside the company, he continues to be its majority shareholder.