The leading business-to-business customer retention and acquisition platform provider for free play sports games in North America, Chalkline, announced a senior-level appointment Tuesday. The company introduced its new strategic advisor, Victor Rocha. Becoming an advisor for Chalkline, he brings extensive experience within the gaming sector.

Currently, Rocha holds a leadership role with the consulting firm for expert advisory services and insights to the gaming sector with a focus on Indian Affairs, Victor Strategies. In addition, he is also the conference chairman for the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), a non-profit organization of sovereign tribal nations.

As an advisor with Chalkline, Rocha brings a wide range of experience. His strategic guidance and expert advice are expected to play an important role in the future expansion of the company and help it continue its growth in North America and beyond.

Undoubtedly, Rocha brings relevant and extensive knowledge to his new role, and he was already recognized for his work in the gaming sector previously. Back in 2012, he won the Casino Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, Rocha also holds the AGA’s Lifetime Achievement for Gaming Marketing and was recognized by the Global Gaming Business Magazine’s “40 Under 40,” among other prestigious achievements.

The Company’s CEO Welcomes Rocha to the Team

Sharing his excitement, Rocha revealed that it is thrilling to join Chalkline amid an important transformational period for the sector. He praised the team of experts at the company and their “platform’s ability to deliver personalized games and unique live and retail fan experiences.” In conclusion, Rocha said: “Driving value for tribal enterprises and empowering casino marketing departments to further engage sports fans on mobile makes perfect sense to me.”

“Joining the team at Chalkline during this transformational phase in industry is a perfect fit.“

Victor Rocha, advisor to Chalkline

Daniel Kustelski, the CEO and co-founder of Chalkline was similarly thrilled regarding the new appointment. He acknowledged Rocha’s wide range of experience within the gaming sector. Additionally, he predicted that Rocha will help shape the future of the company. Finally, Kustelski said that Chalkline is delighted to expand its team with the addition of Rocha who will provide strategic guidance and advice for the company’s player intelligence and marketing platform.

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An investment advisor previously employed by Wells Fargo, based in Union County, New Jersey, has been handed a three-year and six-month prison sentence for orchestrating a sophisticated financial fraud scheme, resulting in a total loss of $626,478 for five clients. 

Exploitative Financial Advisor Preys on Vulnerable Clients

The 39-year-old defendant manipulated the trust of his victims, taking advantage of their vulnerabilities, with some being elderly, disabled, or grappling with memory loss. He convinced his clients to transfer money from their brokerage accounts to personal accounts, under the guise of making investments on their behalf. 

However, instead of utilizing the funds for their intended purpose, he funneled the money through a convoluted network of entities linked to friends and family members, ultimately redirecting the funds back to himself.

Federal prosecutors revealed that the defendant had also built excessively personal relationships with his clients, further abusing his position as an investment advisor. This manipulation extended to three siblings, aged 83, 86, and 93, all living together. Despite sharing holidays and personal moments with them, the Wells Fargo advisor continued his fraudulent activities unabated.

The scheme began to unravel when the siblings grew suspicious of the lack of investment returns and confronted the defendant. In response, he sent them falsified documents purporting to show their funds in a separate brokerage firm. This deception was quickly debunked by the alleged brokerage firm, confirming the fraudulent nature of the claims.

Justice Served as Wells Fargo Collaborates in Investigation and Reimburses Victims

During the investigation, Wells Fargo cooperated closely with the authorities, highlighting its commitment to upholding the highest ethical standards for its employees. In addition to cooperating with the investigation, Wells Fargo fully reimbursed the victims, mitigating some of the financial harm caused by the rogue advisor’s actions.

The trial concluded with a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and securities fraud. The plea deal helped the defendant avoid a potential maximum sentence of two decades behind bars. The sentencing was presided over by US District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo, who imposed not only the prison term but also a three-year supervised release period.

Gambling addiction often drives people to commit fraudulent activities. Another recent case saw a former accountant in Australia admitting to over 100 charges for using clients’ funds to support his gambling addiction. He allegedly defrauded the Australian Tax Office and clients of more than AU$1.4 million ($937,000) over five years. He moved money between clients’ accounts and a personal “fraud account,” using these funds for online gambling, including betting on races.

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Problem gambling can lead to dire consequences for the people affected, including their families. People that have a difficult time controlling their gambling habit can get into debt or in some severe cases resort to crimes or even take their own life. In Australia, gambling is widely spread. So much, in fact, that hundreds of millions are lost to gambling on a monthly basis, resulting in billions of losses annually.

As gambling doesn’t mix well with alcohol, the same goes for people that manage funds and may suffer from problem gambling. Now, a new report released by ABC reveals that a former financial advisor from Perth, accused of stealing more than AU$1 million ($678,500) from clients, is on trial. The man, who allegedly stole money from investors, spent it on online gambling.

The 41-year-old, Mark Raymond Sebo, represents himself in court and denied the allegations. Previously, the financial advisor pleaded not guilty to 36 charges of stealing money from eight different clients. Allegations against Sebo claimed that he stole more than AU$1 million ($678,500) over 10 days. The alleged incident occurred between July and August 2019.

Allegations Claim the Investors’ Money Was Spent on Gambling

The prosecution against Sebo at the WA’s District Court claimed that Sebo was approached by some of his clients, who questioned the transactions they saw on their accounts. However, allegedly the financial advisor told them to file a complaint with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the country’s independent government body in charge of regulating financial services, authorized financial markets and consumer credits, among other financial matters.

The prosecution claimed that in one text message, Sebo wrote: “This is my error … I can no longer fix it for anyone as my accounts have been frozen.” Then, allegedly the financial advisor wrote: “The best you can do at the moment is make a complaint to ASIC.”

So far, no money has been recovered, while Paul Usher, the state prosecutor, alleged that Sebo’s actions violated an agreement with his clients. The financial advisor was in charge of funds belonging to his clients, but he was not given permission to transfer those funds to his business and personal accounts, claimed Usher.

Additionally, the state prosecutor said that evidence would show that the financial advisor spent the money he has taken from his clients’ accounts on gambling via three different online operators. While the trial continues it is yet to be determined whether Sebo will face any penalty and if so, what it might be.

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