{"id":106045,"date":"2019-05-30T14:33:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T21:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=106045"},"modified":"2019-05-30T14:33:17","modified_gmt":"2019-05-30T21:33:17","slug":"addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Gambler Who Sent Death Threats to Athletes Over Losing Bets Agrees to Guilty Plea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former collegiate soccer player Addison Choi pleaded guilty to one federal count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce after prosecutors said he had sent death threats to athletes he had bet on.<\/p>\n

\"Addison
Addison Choi pleaded guilty to one federal count related to death threats he sent to athletes playing in games he had bet on. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to court documents, the threats dated to when Choi was 21 years old and playing varsity soccer at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Players, Loved Ones Targeted by Choi<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a criminal complaint against Choi, he was accused of sending threats to athletes in the United States and internationally between July and December 2017. A prolific sports bettor<\/a>, Choi was said to have lost more than he won, and court documents say that he often borrowed money from friends and family to both pay his debts and fund further betting.<\/p>\n

And when he lost, Choi would then turn to threatening athletes he had bet on, as well as their loved ones. The threats were made via Instagram<\/a>, and would sometimes come in the middle of games that he had bet on.<\/p>\n

I will kill you and your family and f—ing hang them on a tree you stupid ugly motherf—er,\u201d prosecutors say Choi posted to one athlete\u2019s Instagram page on July 27, 2017. \u201cI\u2019m going to hunt you down and f—ing skin you alive you stupid f—.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Choi sent the messages to athletes and those close to them in both collegiate and professional play, and in leagues both in the United States and internationally. Some of the threats also included racist language directed at his targets. The names of the athletes targeted by Choi were not included in court documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Instagram would shut down Choi\u2019s accounts in response to the vulgar threats, he would simply open new accounts from new email addresses in order to continue the harassment.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors Recommend Reduced Sentence <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Choi, now 23, could face up to five years in prison for the federal charge. However, federal prosecutors have recommended a sentence of between 21 and 27 months instead. Prosecutors have also recommended three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.<\/p>\n

There is a difference between free speech \u2013 even hate speech \u2013 and intentionally putting others in fear for their lives,\u201d US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said in a statement. \u201cWe take seriously internet-based threats of violence, especially racist ones \u2013 they undermine our nation\u2019s hard-won, fundamental values of equality.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Attorney Joseph Simons, who represented Choi, said that his client \u201cnever had any intent to harm anyone nor did he harm anyone,\u201d but that he did take responsibility for the actions outlined in the complaint against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Choi has never had a criminal record prior to this and comes from a good family,\u201d Simons told USA Today. \u201cHe was a collegiate athlete. These allegations don\u2019t represent who he is as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former collegiate soccer player Addison Choi pleaded guilty to one federal count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce after prosecutors said he had sent death threats to athletes he had bet on. According to court documents, the threats dated to when Choi was 21 years old and playing varsity soccer at Babson College in Wellesley, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":106046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAddison Choi Pleads Guilty Over Sports Betting Death Threats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Addison Choi reached a plea deal over accusations that he had sent death threats to athletes on Instagram who were playing in games he had bet on.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Addison Choi Pleads Guilty Over Sports Betting Death Threats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Addison Choi reached a plea deal over accusations that he had sent death threats to athletes on Instagram who were playing in games he had bet on.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-30T21:33:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sports-Betting-Threats.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/\",\"name\":\"Addison Choi Pleads Guilty Over Sports Betting Death Threats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sports-Betting-Threats.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-30T21:33:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-30T21:33:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Addison Choi reached a plea deal over accusations that he had sent death threats to athletes on Instagram who were playing in games he had bet on.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/addison-choi-pleads-guilty-over-sports-betting-death-threats\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sports-Betting-Threats.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sports-Betting-Threats.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Addison Choi pleaded guilty to one federal count related to death threats he sent to athletes playing in games he had bet on. 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