High-rolling sports gambler from north suburbs charged in $9.6M wire fraud scheme

A flashy, high-rolling north suburban gambler once purportedly poised to “emerge as America’s leading sports bettor” has been charged in a $9.6 million wire fraud scheme in federal court in Chicago, records show.

Federal prosecutors filed a charging document Tuesday against Robert Gorodetsky, 27, of Northbrook, accusing him of wire fraud and filing a false income tax return.

The document, known as an information, typically signals an intention by a defendant to plead guilty. An arraignment and change-of-plea hearing has been set for Feb. 5. Gorodetsky’s attorney, Chris Gair, declined by email to comment.

Gorodetsky was the subject of a lengthy and colorful 2017 USA Today profile. Though it introduced him as a college dropout and “a fat, Jewish kid from Chicago, by his own account,” it also described Gorodetsky as “canoodling with beautiful women” and “sharing photos of himself with athletes such as Odell Beckham Jr. and celebrities such as Drake.” It said he wagered “well over $1 million” on sporting events in seven days of being shadowed by reporters.

The article said Gorodetsky had “emerged as one of the most compelling and controversial, albeit largely unknown, figures in sports,” and it said Gorodetsky and his inner circle thought “he could emerge as America’s leading sports bettor.” The newspaper titled the article, “Is this the future face of sports gambling?”

The story said Gorodetsky went to New Trier High School in Winnetka before graduating and enrolling at the University of Arizona.

In photos accompanying the article, Gorodetsky sported a “GAMBLR” cap. During one meeting, the newspaper said Gorodetsky wore a $6,000 hoodie, $2,500 high-top shoes and a Hublot watch that cost $47,000. He told the newspaper he was drunk when he bought the watch.

Gorodetsky’s Twitter profile brags “I Bet $27 Million in Sports Bets in 2017,” and it includes a link to the USA Today story. His Twitter feed is full of pictures of betting slips.

Days after the USA Today story, Gorodetsky told the newspaper he had been banned by Las Vegas casinos and said, “I’m banned for life basically from Vegas … My life is over basically, but nothing I can do.”

Still, in 2019, the website SportsBettingDime.com included Gorodetsky’s Instagram account in its “Top 5 Sports Betting Instagram Accounts You Need to Follow Today.”

Now Gorodetsky has been charged with swindling $9.6 million out of a single investor between 2014 and 2018. The investor is identified in the charging document only as “Individual A.”

The feds say Gorodetsky promised to pool the investor’s money with his own funds to make stock market investments and sporting bets, and he said they would share the profits and losses.

The investor handed over $953,000 between February and June 2014, $737,388 of which Gorodetsky put to “his own personal use,” according to the charges.

In July 2014, Gorodetsky allegedly told the investor that his $953,000 had grown to $2 million. Gorodetsky then allegedly told the investor he planned to begin using the money to bet on sports, where he expected there to be greater returns.

Then, between July 2014 and November 2017, Gorodetsky used phony statements to convince the investor the money was growing, but more money was needed. Gorodetsky convinced the investor to turn over another $8.74 million to be gambled on sports, according to the feds.

However, prosecutors say Gorodetsky used the bulk of the $8.74 million “for purposes unrelated to wagering on specific sporting events,” including $2.2 million to pay living, travel and entertainment expenses, as well as for “luxury automobiles and jewelry.”

Meanwhile, the charges against Gorodetksy allege that on his 2016 income tax return, he claimed his total income was just $10,520, when he “knew that his total income substantially exceeded that amount.”