- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 9 months ago by
.
- Posts
How is this even possible? What did he actually do to get paid out? Strange story.
A former employee of the Press Association news agency has pleaded guilty to using his role as a racing specialist to fraudulently win £10,000 in bets by manipulating data to change “the race results in his favour”.
Jack Bentham, 24, appeared at Hull Magistrates Court on Monday where he admitted fraud by abuse of position during 2018.
The charge against Bentham was read by a court clerk, who said: “Between October 13, 2018 and October 22, 2018, at Howden, East Yorkshire, you committed fraud in that, while occupying a position, namely racing specialist, in which you were expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of the Press Association, you dishonestly abused that position intending thereby to make a gain, namely winnings of approximately £10,000 for yourself.”
Prosecutor James Byatt, quoted in the Yorkshire Post, said Bentham had been able to win the five-figure sum by using his role at the PA to favourably alter race results.
He told the court: “While the defendant was employed by the Press Association at the time, it is believed he manipulated race data to change the race results in his favour.”
Paddy Power and Sky Bet prompted an investigation after making complaints over “irregular betting activity”.
Nick Tubbs, defending Bentham, said his client had a gambling problem at the time of the offence and has since taken measures to address this. He added that Bentham took responsibility for his actions.
Bentham was granted unconditional bail with sentencing taking place at Hull Crown Court on September 14.
BUY THE SUN
This all sounds extremely odd, and raises lots of questions. Which results were altered? In what way were they altered? Where were the altered results published? Why was this only noticed when bookmakers raised concerns? Will this have had a wider impact on other punters? Has the data been corrected?
The article explains very little indeed.
At a guess, it would greyhound results, and possibly a copy of womething that was tried at my local track in the past.
The SP reporter at Swindon dogs was a local chap, unpaid for his services. He planned a coup involving placing multiple bets on SP favourites in tight graded races. Then all he had to do was wait to see which dog won and give out the info that it started 3/1 fav.
He was caught because he got greedy and the local betting shops became suspicious. One of the shop owners had a pitch at the dogs and he was the one who was able to prove what was happening.
Thanks apracing. Where the article said “racing” I assumed it was horse racing, but greyhound racing seems a bit more likely.
I had a search for further information, but all the news articles say almost exactly the same thing and presumably originate from the same source, including the local ones.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.