FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The first prison sentence in connection with the massive NBA betting scandal that rocked the basketball world last fall has been handed down. Timothy McCormack was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison by a federal judge in New York.
During his sentencing hearing, McCormack publicly acknowledged his gambling addiction: “ I have struggled with gambling addiction for more than half my life ,” he stated. McCormack was accused of defrauding sports betting platforms by using non-public information to place highly profitable bets tied to the performance of NBA players who were allegedly part of the scheme.
“ He has an addiction. I don’t believe Mr. McCormack’s actions define him as a person ,” said federal judge LaShann DeArcy Hall. McCormack was part of a scheme that allegedly involved former NBA players Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones. According to documents released by the FBI, the ring used a card-shuffling machine that had been secretly modified with technology that read cards and predicted which player had the strongest hand at the table.
This information was transmitted via interstate communications to an operator outside the casino. The operator then relayed the information to the master poker table operator, who used signals to communicate with other associates. FBI documents also reveal that the cheating players used other advanced technologies, including electronic poker chip holders that read cards with hidden cameras, card analyzers, and invisible markings on the cards that could only be seen through special lenses or glasses.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr., called the case “one of the most audacious sports corruption schemes since the widespread legalization of online gambling in the U.S. ” “ They used shuffle machines that had been secretly modified to read cards, predict the best poker hand and transmit the information to an off-site operator ,” Nocella said at a press conference in October.
Sipas Departamentit të Drejtësisë, Billups dhe Jones dyshohet se u përdorën si figura të njohura publike për të tërhequr lojtarë të tjerë në ndeshjet e manipuluara të pokerit. Në prill të vitit 2019, Billups ishte një nga pesë të pandehurit që organizuan dhe morën pjesë në lojëra pokeri të manipuluara në Las Vegas, duke përdorur makina të modifikuara për përzierjen e letrave, ku viktimat humbën të paktën 50 mijë dollarë. Në një mesazh, njëri nga të pandehurit sugjeronte që Billups të humbiste qëllimisht një dorë për të shmangur dyshimet për mashtrim.
Lini një Përgjigje