Las Vegas resident Matthew J. Turnipseede has been sentenced to prison after swindling investors in a multimillion-dollar sports betting scheme. According to the Department of Justice, the 51-year-old was handed a 65-month sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher A. Boyko. Turnipseede had previously pled guilty to four counts of wire fraud in November 2024, acknowledging his role in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $8.5 million.
From March 2015 to May 2021, the Las Vegas man deceived about 72 individuals in Ohio and other locations into investing in his companies, Edgewize and Moneyline Analytics. He falsely promised that investments would fund sophisticated sports wagers utilizing a proprietary algorithm that was supposed to yield high returns. Furthermore, he assured investors that he would only profit from a slice of the winnings, rather than taking upfront fees for his betting services. In reality, his operations never produced the promised profits, and Turnipseede was instead financing his lifestyle and business operations with the investors' capital.
Turnipseede's deceptive practices went beyond false promises; he sent periodic updates and fabricated financial statements to investors, creating the illusion of a successful enterprise. When investors sought to withdraw their funds, He resorted to using new investors' money to fulfill these requests, a classic red flag of a Ponzi scheme. The scheme eventually unraveled in May 2021 when Turnipseede filed for bankruptcy, leaving investors more than $4.7 million out of pocket.
It wasn't just business expenses that Turnipseede funded with the misappropriated funds. He used the stolen capital for personal luxuries, including family vacations, spa treatments, vehicle leases, and country club memberships. Consequently, along with his prison sentence, Judge Boyko has ordered Turnipseede to pay $4,731,165.10 in restitution to his victims. The FBI's Cleveland Division thoroughly investigated the case and led to prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica D. Barnhill and Brian M. McDonough of the Northern District of Ohio.
