UK Poker Player Darren Woods Sentenced for Fraud

After winning a bracelet from the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2010, the career of UK poker player Darren Woods was in the ascendancy. However, the present is a much bleaker tale for the once-promising player. Woods is currently faced with the choice of repaying £1 million in the next six months or else spending six years in prison because of the string of frauds he committed at online poker sites.

The sheer weight of evidence gave the 29-year-old no choice but to plead guilty. During the court case, it came to light that Woods had created multiple identities with a string of poker websites. The first element of fraud stems from the fact that he used real-world identities in creating multiple accounts with each site. His next step was to use the accounts to his advantage.

Being reasonably adept with web-based technology, Woods set up multiple computers in his house, with each connected to the internet via a proxy server that would disguise their location, which was in his Grimsby residence. Along with taking defrauding promotional schemes, Woods would occupy at least two seats at poker tables to gain an unfair advantage over other players.

Years of Cheating

Before going to trial, Woods pled “not guilty” to 13 counts of fraud. However, his plea was quickly changed to guilty on nine counts of fraud after discovering the overwhelming extent of the evidence, which spanned from 2007 until January 2012.

The cheating of Woods did not go unnoticed by his fellow professionals, who submitted and signed a joint-statement to poker website 2+2. Within the statement, they specifically accused Woods of using multiple accounts to beat them.

When speaking to his local newspaper just a couple of days ago (17 January), Woods claimed to be the victim, and also tried to claim that he had been colluding with other players as well.