New York Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Illegal Sports Betting Ring

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut today announced that MITCHELL ENGELSON, 63, of New York, New York, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in an illegal sports bookmaking operation. ENGELSON also was ordered to forfeit $15,000 and pay a $5,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, after a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Stamford Police Department, 20 individuals were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in an illegal Internet sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden. The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that ENGELSON and others were involved in a large-scale sports bookmaking operation in which gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports-gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com based in Costa Rica.

FBI analysis of the sports-betting website utilized by the co-defendants has determined that the total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation were nearly $1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.

On February 13, 2013, ENGELSON pleaded guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Hal Chen and Peter Jongbloed.