Florida Man Jailed for Gambling Fraud

A Boca Raton resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison by a federal district judge on Friday. The resident will be sentenced to prison for wire fraud and perjury after dodging the law for the past 15 years. He was charged with persuading his victims to transfer money in order for him to open gaming accounts in Las Vegas casinos or overseas but then spending the money on himself.

Randy Craig Levine, 54, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and perjury charges in federal district court in West Palm Beach this past May. The FBI in West Palm Beach investigated Levine’s case, and assistant US attorneys Robin Waugh and Stephanie Evans prosecuted him.

Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez and FBI Miami Field Office Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro announced the recent sentence. In addition to serving a prison sentence of 48 months, the judge ordered Levine to pay more than $600,000 in restitution to his victims, who number in the thousands.

Levine was active from 1999 until July 2004, dodging the law for over 15 years. He bought and operated three online websites throughout his active period: www.baseballpicks.net, www.nflfootballpicks.tv, and www.nbabasketballpicks.net. He ran the websites from his Highland Beach, Florida home. The sites’ domains and web servers, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ),

Levine used the websites to provide sports betting suggestions to registered customers and individuals who contacted him via an internet phone number. He used aliases, phony accents, and even played casino floor sounds to entice individuals to transfer money so he could open an offshore or Las Vegas casino gambling account. He conned money over 25 victims of their money, but he was never caught.

The inquiry into Levine began in 2005, and his passport was taken as a result of it. Later, he applied for a new passport and fled the United States soon after he acquired it. He was captured in Poland in 2008. Levine used an alias at the time. Despite being apprehended and facing extradition, Levine was able to elude Polish officials.

After that, Levine remained silent for over ten years. Last May, though, he was discovered in Austria. When Levine was using another identity to register a bank account, local police used face recognition to identify him. As a result, he was apprehended in Austria last June and handed over to the United States in October 2020.