On February 16th, 2008, a poker pro from Canada has been charged with fraud and other charges in connection of pretending to be an investment broker and scheming clients out of $7 million. 40 year-old Shaun David Rootenberg from Toronto, Canada, convinced people to give him some cash to invest in some business venture in Canada and the U.S. that he has no connection with.
The Toronto Police charged Rootenberg with four counts of fraud over $5,000, four counts of attempted fraud for over $5,000, three counts of property obtained by fraud for over $5,000 and two counts for failure to finish with probation. Detective Constable Chris Devereux of the Toronto Police Department's fraud squad commented that he was getting cash from a person's savings and putting it in another pocket.
Devereux commented that Rootenberg was convicted on two counts of forging documents back in 2006 and was given a fifteen month sentence and nine months of probation. Devereux added that there was no intention on the part of Rootenberg to fulfill his obligations to the victims.
As a pro poker player, Rootenberg's poker career has been less stellar. According to records, the only time Rootenberg finished in the money standings in any poker tournament was back on December 12th, 2005, when he was able to finish in 3rd place and take home $16,401 in a Texas Holdem event at the Casino Rama in Toronto.
03/02/2008 22:44 PM