Robert “Big Rob” Gorodetsky, the one-time ‘future face of sports gambling’ and poker fanatic, has been jailed for 28 months for defrauding an investor out of $8.74million…
Gorodetsky sentenced to 28 months in prison
Gorodetsky, who as we reported last year pleaded guilty to a single charge of wire fraud as well as filing a false tax return in a plea agreement, was also ordered to repay $7.2 million in outstanding losses at his sentencing hearing this week.
The 28-year-old from Northfield, Illinois was described in court filings as a “pathological gambler” who started trading shares in high school before being suspended for setting up a gambling hall and taking classmates’ money at poker.
Later dropping out of university, Gorodetsky tried his hand at poker. Although he is described as a professional by some sources, he has only half a dozen live cashes to his name and no noticeable online poker footprint.
However, when he did play and record a cash, buy-in money seemed no problem. A $5k WPT Jacksonville entry in 2012 and a 10th place finish (worth almost $100k) at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25k High Roller in 2016.
He was also quick to share pics of himself with the rich and famous of the poker tables, Dan Bilzerian among them…
A successful sports bettor?
However, his poker money was chicken feed compared to his alleged sports betting spending and earnings, and Gorodetsky was described in a USA Today profile as “one of the most compelling and controversial, albeit largely unknown, figures in sports.”
He wasn’t unknown through shyness or hiding though, Gorodetsky flashing his wealth and connections at every opportunity, hobnobbing with celebrities such as Drake and Odell Beckham Jr, and regularly posting selfies with stars and models on Instagram.
Gorodetsky claimed that Drake gambled with him on several occasions after meeting in the Aria’s High Limit Lounge.“I used to wake up to my girlfriend texting me good morning and then I’d wake up to Drake, ”Who do you like today?” Gorodetsky once boasted.
The USAToday profile also described him as running with a “colorful crew”, casino visits involving an entourage including an enforcer and a pick-up artist, as well as his own financial manager.
With claims of getting upwards of $350,000 on NFL Sundays and $100,000 on MLB games, as well as five-figure bets on almost every sport imaginable, the headlines seemed to fit Gorodetsky well.
Just a fraud
However, his self-proclaimed genius method of defeating the sports betting odds was a cover for the fact that he was a fraudster. His make-believe world was in fact financed by a close to $10million defrauding of one single investor.
His target, known only as Victim A in court and Individual A in earlier press reports, invested a total of $9.8million in Gorodetsky’s scam scheme between 2014 and 2017.
The first $1million was supposedly for stock market investments. However, Gorodetsky used the majority of it to fund his own lavish lifestyle. The rest was invested but had fallen in value. But Gorodetsky lied to his investor who then ploughed more good money after bad.
The plea deal details his entire fraudulent scheme, the legalese summary being: “… defendant ROBERT GORODETSKY knowingly devised, intended to devise, and participated in a scheme to defraud and to obtain money and property from Individual A using materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by the concealment of material facts.”
Not content with robbing his investor blind, the would-be sports betting king also filed false tax returns. His 2016 filing for $10,500 based on income conveniently missing the fact he had conned $2.5million from Victim A.
A further $7million of defrauding his victim was to follow before his dastardly scheme came to light. Gorodetsky was facing up to 20 years in prison.
This week’s sentence was much less than that, although the majority of the scammed money must also be returned – U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo ordering him to repay ordered Gorodetsky to repay $7.2 million.
He will also undergo two years of supervision on his eventual release.
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