Bramly, Diebner, and Moran Were 3 of 57 People Arrested in the Legendz Sports Case
Roger Bramley, Kelley Diebner, and Leon Moran Jr. were convicted in an Oklahoma City federal jury of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering, and illegal gambling on Friday. The gambling ring operated from 2003 to 2013 and included over $1 billion in betting action. The convictions were part of a much larger multi-state and international gambling ring, named Legendz Sports, which was based out of Panama City, Panama.
The case was investigated by a task force of federal and state agencies. At the federal level, the FBI, IRS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Marshal’s Service.
Leon Moran: Runner
Leon Moran Jr is a 54-year old resident of Kingsburg, California. Moran conspired with Bramley and Diebner to run Legendz Sports, an illegal telephone and Internet gambling services business.
Evidence presented by the federal prosecutors showed that Moran acted as a runner for Legendz Sports. He picked up cash payments and delivered cash to bookies in the Legendz Sports network.
Bramley and Diebner: Bookies
Rodger Bramley is a 73-year old resident of Plano, Texas. Kelley Diebner is a 43-year old resident of Houston, Texas. The two men worked in Texas as bookies for Legendz Sports.
Both illegally solicited sports bets, while accepting money for betting purposes. Bramley and Diebner each settled sports bets for Legendz Sports, as well.
How the Ring Worked
Runners and bookies alike delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to Legendz Sports, which was based in Panama City. This money was delivered both as cash and bank checks.
From Panama, the money was deposited in dozens of shell companies created by Legendz Sports. The shell companies existed throughout Central America. In this way, an international gambling ring which handled approximately $100 million a year was organized.
Prosecutors on the Case
The main trial attorney on the case was John S. Han of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime & Gang Section. Also assisting were Assistant U.S. Attorneys Travis D. Smith and Susan Dickerson Cox, who both worked out of the Western District of Oklahoma.
The announcement of the conviction was produced by the officer of the Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The Oklahoma DoJ’s Criminal Division worked closely with U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats, who is supervisor to lawyers Smith and Cox of the Western District of Oklahoma.
No Sentence Yet
No date has been set for the sentencing phase of the trial. It can be assumed the Leon Moran is likely to get a bigger sentence than Bramley and Diebner, though all three men were key cogs in the illegal sports betting ring.
The Legendz Sports case involved 57 different arrests, which took place in April 2013. The case was complicated, because it began as an investigation of a smaller ring in the Albany, New York area. Eventually, the case expanded to several states, including Oklahoma and Florida. The ultimate source of the cash was in Panama.
With so many working parts, the run-up to prosecution took almost two years. As time goes by, more of those involved are expected to face trial and receive convictions. Just last week, it was announced that law enforcement branches throughout the country, especially several key Albany-area district attorney and sheriff’s departments, had received confiscated funds from the gambling busts. Under federal law, those funds must be used in the active prevention of crime or prosecution of the law.
Illegal Sports Gambling
Sports betting is the type of gaming crime ring investigated and prosecuted. Due to the 1992 PASPA law, sports betting in the United States is illegal in most places. The 1961 Wire Act and the UIGEA also make it illegal to make sports bets online. The problem with those bans is that sports gambling is both popular and bans against it are incredibly hard to enforce.
Illegal table games, poker, and slot machines require a place to gamble. Sports betting requires a phone conversation and a later meeting for one side to collect their winnings. Thus, bookmakers handle over 95% of the sports wagers made every year in the United States. The only way to end the domination of the bookmakers is to legalize, license, regulate, and tax sports bets. While 4 states have legal sports betting, 46 do not. While 50-state legalization is a pipe dream–Utah and Hawaii maintain a 100% ban on all gambling–it is not unrealistic to imagine that sports betting could be made legal in 40+ US states, much the way lottery gaming has become mainstream.
