Published on: October 8, 2025, 04:47h.
Updated on: October 8, 2025, 04:47h.
- Poker professional sentenced for fraudulent sports betting operation
- Zeidman deceived investors with false insider information
- Homeland Security exposed a long-standing fraudulent betting scheme
WSOP bracelet holder Cory Zeidman has received a 46-month sentence in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as first reported by PokerNews. Additionally, he is required to repay $3.7 million in restitution to his victims.
The seasoned poker player, aged 62, entered a guilty plea in federal court in New York last December for defrauding clients in his sports betting advice business.
Between 2004 and 2020, Zeidman and his associates falsely asserted they had “insider knowledge” about sporting events—including “confidential” details regarding player injuries, “biased referees,” and “rigged” matches—when actually, such information was non-existent.
They amassed approximately $25 million in “exorbitant” fees from clients for providing insights that were either fabricated or sourced from basic internet searches, as noted by prosecutors.
Claims of a ‘No-Risk Opportunity’
The group operated under names designed to mimic legitimate investment firms, such as “Gordon Howard Global” and “Ray Palmer Group,” advertising their services on national radio platforms.
Potential investors were misled into believing the group had exclusive access to insights from medical professionals regarding player injuries and briefings from network executives about supposedly fixed game outcomes—information they claimed made betting on sports a “low or no-risk endeavor,” according to court documents.
Zeidman was apprehended on May 25, 2022, in Florida, initially denying his guilt. In a subsequent PokerNews interview, he alleged that authorities “seized all my money and seem displeased that I won’t confess to offenses I didn’t commit.”
Quoting German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he stated, “Everything the state utters is false, and all it possesses has been stolen.”
However, according to his victims—who reported his scheme to Homeland Security—it was Zeidman who was engaging in deceit. This portrayal starkly contrasts his self-description in PokerNews as “a person of the utmost morals and integrity.”
“Complete Fabrications”
“Sports bettors sought advice from Cory Zeidman before risking their money, yet it was he who benefited significantly through his deceptive practices, blatant lies, and aggressive tactics that preyed on unsuspecting clients,” stated special agent Charles Walker of Homeland Security in New York in a press release accompanying Zeidman’s arrest.
Per the Hendon Mob database, Zeidman has earned nearly $700,000 in gross tournament winnings throughout his 25-year poker career. He secured his WSOP title in 2012 in seven-card stud. Prior to this, he gained notoriety for allegedly slow-rolling Jennifer Harman with a straight flush against her full house during the 2005 WSOP Main Event.