Illegal Internet Gambling


April 30, 2015

Bad luck for two brothers who were bookies in an illegal Internet gambling business involving professional athletes.


Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: Bad luck for two brothers who were bookies in an illegal Internet gambling business involving professional athletes. Joseph and Mark Ruff received prison sentences for running the Rochester, New York-based organized crime operation. They used offshore websites to accept wagers on sports games from clients across the U.S. and Canada. FBI Special Agent Matthew Allen…

Matthew Allen: As a result of the search warrants conducted on the websites, we identified total wagers by clients of approximately $78 million over a 15-month period.

Halpern: The brothers concealed millions of dollars in proceeds and extorted money from a NHL professional athlete.

To uncover the brothers’ crimes, the FBI and its law enforcement partners used cyber investigative tools in this joint case.

Allen: Criminals are becoming far more advanced and technical. As they evolve and become more sophisticated, we’re forced to do the same thing as investigators.

Halpern: I’m Mollie Halpern of the FBI with Gotcha, the Bureau’s closed case of the week.

-Related press release

Audio Download