How Damien Leforbes found himself in massive gambling scandal

Damien Leforbes is a professional poker player from Long Beach, Florida, the United States. As a recognizable face within the poker vertical, he has participated in different tournaments, and he is well-known in casinos across Las Vegas.

Besides playing poker, Leforbes has participated in popular podcasts and made appearances on "High Stakes Poker," as well as "Poker After Dark," among others. Regretfully, the American professional poker player's reputation was stained amid allegations about his involvement in a massive illegal gambling operation that took place across Nevada and California.

Damien Leforbes poker career takes a controversial turn

A massive investigation into a suspected illegal bookmaking operation resulted in charges against several individuals earlier this year. Leforbes was one of the people on that list. Allegations that overshadowed Damien Leforbes poker reputation claim he wagered more than $148M while involved in an illegal sportsbook operation.

Earlier this year, different media reports tied the professional poker player to Mathew Bowyer, an Orange County, California man, who pleaded guilty in August to three counts, including money laundering, subscribing to a false tax return and operating an unlawful gambling business, as detailed in a statement from the Department of Justice at the time.

Allegations against Bowyer claimed that he operated an "unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that focused on sports betting and violated a California law that prohibits bookmaking." The 49-year-old San Juan Capistrano resident allegedly was in charge of an illegal gambling operation across Las Vegas, as well as in different locations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California.

One of Bowyer's clients was Ippei Mizuhara, the former Japanese-language interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, the Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar. The disgruntled interpreter was accused of stealing nearly $17M from Ohtani's bank account without his knowledge or permission. Subsequently, the former interpreter of the MLB star pleaded guilty to bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return, back in May, the US Attorney's Office, Central District of California confirmed.

While Mizuhara played the role of one of Bowyer's clients, Leforbes is suspected of being involved in the illegal bookmaking operation. Bowyer allegedly operated his illegal gambling business for at least five years until October 2023. An investigation claims that at some point his unlawful operation involved more than 700 bettors.

The professional poker player entered a guilty plea

Near the end of August this year, the cases against Matt Bowyer and Damien Leforbes picked up speed after the latter individual entered a guilty plea in federal court. Charges against Leforbes are related to money laundering and the operation of an illegal gambling business described as the "Leforbes Gambling Business" in the announced guilty plea document released on August 28, 2024.

Per the guilty plea, Leforbes is accused of organizing illegal gambling between January 2021 and December 22, 2023. Similarly to Bowyer, Leforbes allegedly operated in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California, as well as in Clark County, Nevada.

As described by the guilty plea the "defendant (Leforbes) operated an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that took bets for money on the outcome of sporting events from various persons at agreed-upon odds." Further, the legal document reads: "Defendant placed and accepted bets from others for the Leforbes Gambling Business himself, and also used other persons to place and accept bets from others for the Leforbes Gambling Business."

Guilty plea describes the "Leforbes Gambling Business"

The professional poker player is accused of employing agents and sub-agents who helped the Damien Leforbes gambling business in exchange for a percentage of the losses of the sports bettors. Those agents played a key role in referring clients, accepting wagers from bettors, collecting losses and also paying out winnings on behalf of the illegal gambling enterprise. According to the guilty plea, some of the agents also served as bettors as a part of the illegal operation.

Tracking of the bettors' balances, including managing information on behalf of the "Leforbes Gambling Business" was organized via a third-party call center and website. Allegedly, whenever a new customer wanted to place wagers, the professional poker player, one of the agents or sub-agents would contact the call center and ask for the set-up of a new player account. The aforementioned website helped the illegal gambling business keep track of winnings and losses by bettors, and in some cases, Leforbes would "instruct losing bettors to directly pay winning bettors," Damien Leforbes guilty plea suggests.

Leforbes' plea agreement claims that he gambled approximately $148 million at an establishment which was titled "Casino A" in the document. After news about the federal case Damien Leforbes is facing broke out earlier this year, media outlets suggested that "Casino A" is Resorts World, a high-profile casino in Las Vegas.

Considering the accusations against Bowyer and Leforbes, in mid-August, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state's gambling regulator, filed a complaint against Resorts World Las Vegas. "There exists an overall lack of control within Resorts World and acceptance among executives of a culture where information of suspicious or illegal activity is, at a minimum, negligently disregarded, or, worst, willfully ignored for financial gain," the regulator wrote in its complaint.

Damien Leforbes' sentencing is scheduled for early 2025

Based on the guilty plea, Damien Leforbes, if found guilty on all charges, may receive a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. In addition to imprisonment, the professional poker player may receive a fine of up to $500,000. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Leforbes would also have to undergo three years of supervised release.

With that in mind, anyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Leforbes' sentencing in Los Angeles is scheduled for January 23, 2025.

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