The fifth man involved in an illegal sports betting ring has been named by the FBI. LaVonte Holmes, 24, was reportedly involved in the ring between 2022 and 2024.
The scheme was reported to involve the misuse of stolen identities to place bets on vulnerable platforms. Dates of birth, Social Security numbers and more have been acquired from online sources, such as the deep web, which regularly hosts troves of stolen data.
Holmes has now been sentenced to prison and will serve the second longest sentence of the five individuals. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, double that of Lawrence Williams and five times that of two of his other accomplices.
The five individuals are:
- Lucas Gilliam, 25, sentenced to 36 months
- LaVonte Holmes, 24, sentenced to 30 months
- Lawrence Williams, 22, sentenced to 15 months
- Nathan Penaflor, 23, sentenced to 6 months
- Joshua Penaflor, 22, sentenced to 6 months
None of the five will be eligible for parole, as that option does not exist at the federal level in the United States.
Speaking in the press releaseU.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said:
“With new technologies, applications and platforms constantly evolving, criminals are using more creative and disturbing ways to commit fraud against vulnerable victims, including identity theft. For these thieves, their gambles have not paid off and have instead turned into prison sentences.”
The sentencing was particularly harsh against Holmes and Gilliam, as it was discovered that they would travel interstate to carry out their scam. They would leave Tennessee to try to develop the project.
As such, Chief United States District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman tossed the book to the five individuals, who pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, as well as unauthorized use of an access device.
Without parole, Holmes and Gilliam won’t be released from prison until 2028. Both Penaflors will be released this year, while Williams will be behind bars until 2027.
Featured Image: Via HAL333 on Wikimedia Commons
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