New York gambling ring defendants plead not guilty

The Queens County District Attorney’s Office in New York announced this week that 17 individuals allegedly connected to a $32 million illegal online sports betting ring have entered not guilty pleas.

Prominent among them were 5 Californian men identified as Cyrus Irani (a 37-year-old man alleged to be the ring leader) and Andres Arriaga (41); Jeffrey Metelitz (54); Julio Alvarenga (40) and Jeffrey Metelitz (54).

The defendants were indicted by a Queens County grand jury last year on charges of unlawfully operating a highly sophisticated sports gambling enterprise that stretched from New York to California and used offshore-based internet gambling websites, laundering the proceeds through banks across the United States.

New York police officials operating in partnership with their Californian counterparts conducted raids on residential premises in southern California late last year as part of the investigation, arrested Irani (see previous reports).

A date for the case to be heard is now awaited, with the defendants out on bail.