Matthew J. Turnipseede, 49, allegedly falsely told investors in his multiple companies that their funds would generate double-digit returns through sports wagers.
CLEVELAND — A Las Vegas sports bettor was charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud for running what the U.S. Department of Justice called a Ponzi scheme that defrauded approximately 72 victims, including many in Northern Ohio, out of more than $8.5 million.
Matthew J. Turnipseede, 49, allegedly promised investors in four of his companies double-digit returns, telling them that their money would generate profits through “sophisticated sports wagers” made with the help of an algorithm, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio’s office said in a release announcing the charges.
His companies, Edgewize LLC, Moneyline Analytics, Moneyline Analytics Dublin Branch, and another Tunipseede-incorporated company not named in the release, never generated the promised profits, the DOJ says.
Instead, Tunipseede allegedly used the investors’ money to “maintain the business, seek new sources of funds, pay off earlier investors and fund personal expenses” such as multiple cars, country club membership and vacations to locales like Disneyland and Hawaii.
The DOJ’s allegations…
