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Fooled gaming company 'did not suspect anything' - fraud trial told ; Vegas poker star and his father deny 'fooling the system' of thousands [Grimsby Telegraph (UK)](Grimsby Telegraph (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A GAMING company was fooled and did not "suspect anything" when a world poker star allegedly used false details to open an online account, a court heard. The company would have frozen, investigated and closed the bogus account if it had realised during identity checks that it was being duped, the court was told. Darren Woods, 29, of Stallingborough Road, Healing, denies 13 fraud offences between January 2007 and January 2012. His father, Morteza Gharoon, 56, of the same address, denies being jointly concerned with Woods in four of those alleged frauds and another charge of money laundering, through credit billings, on behalf of Woods. The prosecution at Sheffield Crown Court claims that Woods allegedly made improper use of internet ACCUSED: Morteza Gharoon, 56, father of poker player Darren Woods. poker sites by pretending to gaming companies that he was somebody else. He allegedly used other people's identities to gain commissions above what he would have been allowed to do if he had been using just his own name. In July 2011, he won a world series of poker games in Las Vegas, scooping winnings of 213,000 dollars. He was made bankrupt in 2006. His father, an Iranian national, was a successful property investor, with a large portfolio of properties in the Grimsby area. Woods and Gharoon allegedly used the names and details of real people to open accounts with gaming companies and money bookers for online poker games. Woods allegedly bought a number of private networks to disguise his online identity and bought different computers in a bid to "fool the systems". Andrew McCabe, representing a security checking firm that works on behalf of online gaming companies, told the court that gambling laws meant that companies had to check on the identities of people wanting to open internet accounts. Names, dates of birth, addresses and sometimes occupation details were requested. If there was no response to security check questions within 72 hours, the account would be frozen. Prosecutor Alasdair Campbell asked what would have happened if Boylesports, one of the companies used by Woods, had realised at the time that false details were being used to open an account. Mr McCabe replied that the account would have been investigated. But he added, in connection with the false application allegedly made to Boylesports by Woods: "I don't believe they suspected anything." He could not say why the gaming company did not investigate in this case. Mr McCabe said that if the online company had known that false details in someone else's name had been used to open an account, it would have frozen the account, investigated and possibly closed it before filing the details in case the person tried to log in again. Woods applied to open an account in the name 2006 The year that Darren Woods was made bankrupt Lloyd Bond in August 2011, the court heard. This was a reference to Lloyd Stockley-Bond, a real person who had known Woods for about 13 years and who knew he was a gambler. Woods also applied to open accounts in the name of his father, Morteza Gharoon, in March 2011. The gaming company would have frozen the accounts if it had realised that someone else had used Mr Gharoon's details. But Mr McCabe agreed with a claim from defence barrister Gordon Stables, representing Woods, that it was not uncommon for a player to open an account in someone else's name if that person was not computer literate. This regularly happened once a month, claimed Mr Stables. Mr McCabe agreed that Boylesports did not detect any unusual practices during the time the accounts were active. But the court heard that a gaming company e-mail began with the greeting "Hi Morteza" - a clear indication, claims the prosecution, that Boylesports thought it was dealing with Gharoon. The trial continues. ? ON THE WEB: Read more about the trial at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk I don't believe they suspected anything Andrew McCabe (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |