Four Suspects Indicted After Attempting to Cheat Poker, Backgammon and Chess Players at Borgata
On October 3rd, 2008, four men, James Harrison, Joseph Ingargiola, Stephen Phillips and Steven Forte, have been indicted after attempting to swindle money from high-rollers in an Atlantic City Borgata hotel room. The four suspects actually paid for two rooms in the Borgata-one to entertain players as they play high stakes Chinese poker, Backgammon and Chess and the other room to operate sophisticated surveillance equipment and computers to help the men swindle the guests that they were playing.
According to New Jersey officials, the four suspects were apprehended and their equipment was confiscated well before they had an opportunity to scam players while playing the games. The four suspects are being charged with 2nd degree attempted theft by deception, a criminal charge which has a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
One of the suspects in the case, Steven Forte, has a lot of connections in the gaming world and has even called upon to assist authorities to counter would be gaming cheater. Forte is also an author and has previously written the book Poker Protection-Cheating and World of Poker.
11 2008
