Queens DA indicts 17 in $32 million illegal sports betting ring

Seventeen individuals in New York, Nevada and California were indicted by the Queens County grand jury Wednesday.

In a joint statement Queens District Attorney, Richard A. Brown and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Robert L. Capers said the defendants had been indicted on charges of unlawfully operating a highly sophisticated sports gambling enterprise that stretched westward from Queens County and utilised 365Action.com an offshore-based gambling website.

According to the statement, the operation boasting 2000 active customers, was led by California resident Cyrus Irani (37) and is alleged to have booked more than $32 million in bets annually and laundered the proceeds “by depositing and withdrawing large sums of cash from various banks throughout the United States”.

“The arrests and seizures today represent a coordinated effort to address illegal sports wagering over the Internet,” U.S. Attorney Capers said. “With this seizure of millions of dollars from the Cyrus Irani bookmaking operation, our asset forfeiture unit stands united with our law enforcement partners in rooting out the profits from illegal sports gambling.”

The investigation which began in February 2014 used physical surveillance, intelligence information and court-authorised electronic eavesdropping “that intercepted hundreds of hours of incriminating conversations” in the lead up to the arrests.

Irani has been accused of acting as the bookmaker while second-in-command Clark W.Bruner (56) administered the accounts, managed the agents and collected the winnings.

Bruner’s sons, both California residents, Chris Bruner, (30) and Clark Bruner (23) are alleged to have reported directly to their father and managed their own accounts, paid winners and collected debts from losers.

Ten other individuals are accused of acting as agents or sub-agents along with two alleged money collectors and a clerk.

In addition to the arrests, court-authorised search warrants are being executed in California as the investigation continues, the statement reads.