Poker cheats scam over 500.000€ - also from Max Kruse

Hand signals, Bluetooth headphones, infrared cameras and marked cards - these are the tools used by a professional gang to defraud more than half a million euros. Among the victims is poker player and former professional footballer Max Kruse. Now the perpetrators have been brought before the Dresden Regional Court to answer for their crimes.

In the past, we have reported on several criminal cases from the Dresden area. In December 2021, for example, a gambling addict from Dresden cheated his friends out of almost half a million euros. A five-man poker gang is alleged to have caused almost as much damage. The defendants, aged between 37 and 46, recently appeared before the Dresden Regional Court. They were charged with up to 29 counts of commercial fraud.

One victim and one perpetrator are known former professional soccer players

What makes this case unique is that the defrauded poker player is said to be former professional footballer Max Kruse. Kruse has been appearing in public as a professional player for some time now. As recently as November last year, we reported that Max Kruse had won over €130,000 in a poker tournament. In 2014, the professional footballer is said to have fallen victim to the cheating gang in Hamburg and lost 5,000 euros.

But it is not only the face of the defrauded ex-national player Kruse that football fans will be familiar with in the current case. One of the accused fraudsters is also a former professional footballer. His name is Ronny Garbuschewski (37). During his playing career, which lasted until 2022, he played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hansa Rostock and Energie Cottbus, among others. In court, the ex-football star, nicknamed "Sachsen-Beckham", admitted the crime and showed remorse:

„In retrospect, it doesn't work at all.“

How did the criminal poker gang scam work?

The five men went to great lengths to defraud their victims as effectively as possible. In total, the perpetrators caused at least 528,695 euros in damage. The crime scenes were located in Hamburg, Dresden, Rostock, Leipzig and Zwickau. The defendants used professional equipment such as Bluetooth headphones, infrared cameras, marked cards and hand signals.

For example, there were small scan codes on the sides of the poker cards. After the cards were shuffled, the camera was able to scan them and quickly calculate which player was likely to win the hand. The result of the calculation was then transmitted via Bluetooth to the dealer, who was also part of the poker gang. The dealer then used certain hand signals when dealing the cards to let the gang members at the table know who might win the game.

The initiated players were then able to manage their bets in such a way as to win the most promising rounds. The winnings were then shared between all the members of the gang of five. Just a few weeks ago, another article on GambleJoe discussed the BFH ruling that a German poker player must pay full tax on his winnings.

The accused essentially confessed to their actions. In return for their confessions, the men were probably given suspended sentences of between one and two years. They have not yet been sentenced.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/verkehrszeichen-achtung-hinweis-464641/