DraftKings employees accused of fueling extortion plot against VIP customer

[The Buzz]

A lawsuit filed in New York claims that DraftKings employees leaked a customer's personal information to a sports betting influencer, Gadoon "Spanky" Kyrollos, who then allegedly used the information in an extortion attempt.

The victim, identified as "John Doe," was physically assaulted and threatened unless he paid $500,000 to Kyrollos. The lawsuit alleges that high-ranking DraftKings staff knowingly provided Kyrollos with the victim's address, financial details, and betting history.

From Next.io:

It also alleged that the same DraftKings employees later conspired to change the email address associated with the plaintiff’s sports betting account.

The complaint said: “Spanky and the masked man did not act alone… DraftKings loaded the proverbial gun, and put it in Spanky’s hand. [The] plaintiff’s life was never the same.

“This is a case about DraftKings — one of the biggest and most profitable sports betting companies in the world — knowingly and wilfully aiding and abetting a violent assault, battery, and death threat, (and later, a significant computer hack).”

The plaintiff is seeking damages for abetting assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.

DraftKings slams “implausible and baseless” allegations

DraftKings declined to provide an official comment to NEXT.io when contacted, but has requested that the court dismiss the case in court filings.

The sports betting and daily fantasy sports operator argued that the “implausible and baseless” allegations failed to state a claim.
This, the business argued, is because DraftKings cannot be vicariously held liable for torts of employees acting outside the scope of their employment.

Read more here: https://next.io/news/draftkings-staf...xtortion-plot/

[The Buzz]

Here's an update on the story from Eric Raskin at CasinoReports.com. The "Joe Doe" in this case has been identified as Steven Jacobs, a senior associate at the New York law firm of Herbert Smith Freehills and a former high-stakes poker player.


From Raskin's article:

In short, Kyrollos detailed that Jacobs served as a “beard,” placing bets on Spanky’s behalf at DraftKings because the sportsbook isn’t interested in taking his sharp action, and Jacobs never paid Kyrollos his winnings. Kyrollos also said that Jacobs told him he owes over $1 million to other people.

An informed source told Casino Reports that Jacobs likely owes money to more than a dozen people in the gambling industry and that the million-dollar figure Kyrollos cited aligns with their perception of the debt Jacobs has racked up.

Meanwhile, Gadoon "Spanky" Kyrollos, who allegedly used the information that was "leaked" by DraftKings, responded on X, saying:

Steve Jacobs is now seeking compensation by way of a frivolous lawsuit against DraftKings - to either pay off other debts or to keep gambling. He claims this incident happened in March 2023 but yet he waited till June 2024 to file a suit? 15 months! Did he run out of money to feed his gambling habit?

I never threatened Steve nor sent a “masked man” to threaten him; however, given that Steve Jacobs owes over a million dollars ($1,000,000.00) to so many people, his claims don’t surprise me. I never received any information from anyone at DraftKings about Steve Jacobs. FOIL was all we needed to prove this guy to be a shyster.

Read more here: https://www.casinoreports.com/steven-jacobs-lawyer-accusing-draftkings/