United States
United Kingdom
Summary:
- In 2022, poker pro Cory Zeidman was accused of allegedly running a fraud scheme connected to sports betting.
- The bracelet winner was arrested on May 25 in Florida and originally refused the idea of a plea deal.
- His attorney has been recently discussing plea negotiations with the assistant US attorney, with an upcoming status conference scheduled for April.
The federal case against poker pro Cory Zeidman who was indicted of allegedly running the Phoenix Organization which he, “his co-conspirators and others” committed a complex fraud and money laundering scheme tied to sports betting might be heading to a plea deal.
Cory Initially Refused a Plea Deal
The experienced poker player who is a Florida resident was indicted in May 2022 and initially stated he would not consider taking a plea deal but would rather “anxiously await” his day in court.
At the time, the player with close to $700,000 in total live earnings added and a WSOP bracelet won in 2013 “They took all my money and they seem upset that I won’t plead to things I haven’t done”.
Now, it seems that he may have had a change of heart. Almost two years later, his attorney, Sarita Kedia, has been busy carrying out a series of plea negotiations with Anthony Bagnuola, who is the assistant US attorney on the case.
While Zeidman was originally scheduled to appear in front of Hon. Joanna Seybert in the United States District Court Eastern District of New York on March 5 at a status conference, Kedia asked for a 60-day adjournment just four days prior.
She argued her request formulated to judge Seybert by saying they needed additional time to continue their discussion, in the light of government and defense counsel expressing hope for potentially resolving.
Next Status Conference, Scheduled for April 30
For the time being, the details of the possible plea deal have not been disclosed to the public.
The term for the upcoming status conference has been set to April 30 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Zeidman is alleged to have held a leadership position in the organization from January 2004 to March 2020 and, together with co-conspirators, published a series of radio advertisements in different US markets
which falsely advertised a ‘sophisticated white-collar approach to gathering sports information’ and promised ‘wagering as investing, not high-risk gambling.’
Prosecutors say that, to give them the information that was “either fictitious or obtained from an internet search“, the player together with his co-defendants asked the victims to pay fees that totaled over $25 million, as explained in the indictment document.
The player is charged with “conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering conspiracy”.
