US$ 1 billion illegal online sports gambling ring busted
Brooklyn prosecutors dismantled the California-based ring, allegedly lead by Gordon Mitchnick.
US.- Brooklyn prosecutors busted a California-based illegal online sports gambling ring ranked in US$ 1 billion, when Mitchnick allegedly ran a portion of the operation in the borough.
The illegal operator collected bets from thousands of gamblers through a series of internet sites, including www.wagerabc.com and www.hustler247.org. Four men have been indicted charged on a 57-count indictment with enterprise corruption and promoting gambling. Bail was set between US$2 million and US$50,000 and the quartet may face up to 25 years in prison.
During 2015’s football season, Mitchnick, 58; Joseph Schnieder, 39; Claude Ferguson, 43, all of California and Arthur Rossi, 66, of Manhattan, allegedly accepted US$927 million and disbursed up to US$200,000 a month. According to prosecutors, the illegal operator used a variety of methods to allegedly launder its payments and proceeds, including transporting, transmitting and transferring of cash, electronic wire transfers and other financial transactions.
“Illegal gambling is not a victimless crime – it preys on peoples’ vulnerabilities and directly leads to money laundering, loansharking and a host of other crimes,” claimed Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. “The principals of this huge gambling operation – possibly the biggest one ever to be dismantled by a local prosecutor’s office – allegedly moved millions of dollars around the United States and the world and used various tactics to launder these proceeds.”
