Matthew J. Turnipseede, 49, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was charged today in a 13-count indictment with defrauding approximately 72 investors in the Northern District of Ohio and elsewhere out of more than $8.5 million through a Ponzi scheme that promised investors double-digit profits achieved through various sports wagering businesses.
The defendant was officially charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.
According to the indictment, from March 2015 to May 2021, the defendant induced victims to invest money in companies that he owned, namely Edgewize LLC, Moneyline Analytics, Moneyline Analytics Dublin Branch, and another company incorporated by Turnipseede, by falsely claiming that investor funds would be used to make sophisticated sports wagers according to an algorithm that generated double-digit returns.
According to the indictment, none of these companies ever generated the promised profits, and instead the defendant used investor money to maintain the business, seek new sources of funds, pay off earlier investors and fund personal expenses.
The indictment alleges that the defendant provided victim investors with operating agreements in which he claimed that all money invested would be used exclusively to place bets on sporting events and that the defendant would not be paid any compensation for placing the wagers but would retain a percentage of the winning profits.
To perpetuate the scheme, the defendant is accused of periodically…
