The operator of an illegal sports betting company in California and Nevada agreed to a plea agreement Monday.
Damien LeForbes, a professional poker player, pled guilty to operating an illegal sportsbook and money laundering.
He will face up to 15 years in prison, up to three years on supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain/loss resulting from the illegal business, whichever is greater.
Over a nearly three-year period, LeForbes’ sports betting business took millions in illegal wagers across the two states, with at least part of the business relying heavily on a Las Vegas casino.
Illegal sports betting operation details
LeForbes set up his illegal sportsbook no later than January 2021 and continued the business through last December 2023. He took bets in Los Angeles County and Orange County in California, and in Clark County, Nevada.
LeForbes employed agents who would bring in new bettors in exchange for a portion of their gambling losses. They would use a website or call center to create accounts where bets could be tracked.
LeForbes also recruited casino hosts to work as agents, including two from an unidentified casino that referred at least two new bettors to the business.
The illegal operation took payments in checks and wires in the name of a shell company called DJL, as well as through cryptocurrency, cash and payment processors like PayPal. LeForbes is listed as the president of DJL on his LinkedIn profile.
‘Casino A’ played important role
The casino where LeForbes hired hosts from, known as Casino A in the court filings, played a crucial role in the scheme.
LeForbes executed at least 17 personal checks at the casino between October 2021 and December 2023 totaling at least $9.1 million, including a $1 million check in April 2023.
He also presented at least $2.8 million in cash to Casino A between January 2022 and December 2023. He would accept payment in casino chips, noting that Casino A was the most important since those chips were “so versatile for me.”
In total, LeForbes wagered more than $148 million at Casino A.
Millions in crypto used in sports betting scheme?
LeForbes also knew his way around cryptocurrency transfers to not alert authorities, the filing says. When talking to a person worried about their crypto transfers being tracked, LeForbes said, “I’d just send like [$100,000] at a time to different addresses.”
He continued to say send directly to wallets, not through exchanges.
“I do it every week for millions back and forth. And on a week like this where I owe [a bettor] $2M, I can send him all [Bitcoin] and keep the cash/chips I was going to give him,” LeForbes said.
Resorts World Las Vegas involved?
It is possible that Casino A is Resorts World Las Vegas, which is in hot water with Nevada gaming regulators for allegedly allowing illegal bookmakers to launder money though the casino.
A 31-page document from the Nevada Gaming Control Board calls out four individuals who are either suspected to be involved with or definitively tied to illegal bookmaking. One of the individuals is “an unnamed individual suspected of being an illegal bookmaker.”
Matthew Bowyer, who has already pled guilty for his illegal gambling, is one of the others named. He is the illegal bookmaker that took bets from Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani‘s former interpreter.
Former Resorts World President Scott Sibella pled guilty to federal charges related to illegal sports betting earlier this year. Sibella failed to report suspicious transactions while president of the MGM Grand and knowingly allowed illegal bookie Wayne Nix to gamble with illegal proceeds.
Report: LeForbes owes Resorts World
According to a May article in the Nevada Current, LeForbes owed $12.3 million to Resorts World lost over nearly four dozen trips to the casino.
He also reportedly wrote a bad check for $2.5 million that was turned over by Resorts World.
