CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A 28-year-old Northbrook man who cultivated a social media image as a high-rolling and successful Las Vegas gambler has been sentenced to more than two years in prison and has to repay millions for a fraud scheme.
Robert Gorodetsky went by the name “Big Rob" and cultivated an image on Instagram, that he was a successful sports gambler in Las Vegas with luxury cars and designer clothes.
But according to federal prosecutors, in reality, he was a big fraud.
According to the Tribune, Gorodetsky, 28, of Northbrook, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. In addition to handing down a 28-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo ordered Gorodetsky to repay $7.2 million in outstanding losses.
Federal prosecutors said Gorodetsky orchestrated a massive fraud scheme against one unnamed individual, who invested millions of dollars with him in the belief that the funds were being invested. Gorodetsky took that person for nearly $10 million between 2014 and 2017.
Instead, Gorodetsky was using the cash to pay for his Las Vegas operation, placing bets on sporting events and living a lavish lifestyle that was paraded on social media.
According to Tribune, Gorodetsky grew up in the North Shore and graduated from New Trier in 2010. His interest in gambling began in high school when he would use his father’s Ameritrade account to make trades on his laptop in class.
His lawyer wrote in a recent court fling that Gorodetsky was a pathological gambler who “could only concentrate on one thing: the rush he felt from his gambling wins.” He was suspended from New Trier for taking his classmates’ money at poker games and setting up a gambling hall at the school, according to the Tribune.
In a 2017 USA Today profile, Gorodetsky was labeled as “one of the most compelling and controversial” figures in sports. He was said to have arrived at casinos wearing $6,000 Louis Vuitton hoodies and $2,500 high-top sneakers.
He was also known for placing wild, high-risk parlays with little or no research on the teams or players; and claimed to have won up to 65 percent of his sports bets, according to the profile.
Outside of sports bets, Gorodetsky spent at least $2.2 million of the victim’s money on living, travel and entertainment expenses, as well as purchase luxury cars and jewelry.
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