Las Vegas resident charged in $8.5m sports betting Ponzi scheme
Ohio authorities arraign 49-year-old man on charges of defrauding 72 investors through non-profit making entities
The US Attorney’s Office for the state of Ohio has charged a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident with 13 counts of defrauding investors of $8.5m through a Ponzi-style scheme linked to sports betting.
Matthew J. Turnipseede allegedly shortchanged 72 investors through the scheme, which promised double-digit profits achieved through investing in sports wagering businesses.
Turnipseede was officially charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud between March 2015 and March 2021.
According to the indictment, between March 2015 and May 2021 the defendant induced victims to invest money in companies that he owned, namely Edgewize LLC, Moneyline Analytics, Moneyline Analytics Dublin Branch, and another company incorporated by Turnipseede.
He falsely claimed investor funds would be used to make sophisticated sports bets in accordance with an algorithm which generated double-digit returns.
However, none of these companies ever generated the promised profits, and instead Turnipseede used investor money to maintain the business, seek new sources of funds, pay off earlier investors, and fund personal expenses.
Turnipseede allegedly provided investors with operating agreements in which he claimed that all money invested would be used exclusively to place bets on sporting events, and that he would not be paid any compensation for placing the wagers but would retain a percentage of the winning profits.
To perpetuate the scheme, Turnipseede periodically emailed fraudulent financial statement to victims showing gains on their investments and employed an accounting firm to generate IRS forms based on fraudulent figures provided to the firm by himself.
Turnipseede allegedly used funds to finance personal expenses including family vacations to Disneyland and Hawaii, spa treatments, lease payments on multiple vehicles, and country club membership fees.
This case was investigated by the Cleveland branch of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Ohio Assistant US Attorneys Erica D. Barnhill and Brian McDonough.
Under US law, an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case continues.