The U.S.-based attorney, who has been implicated in many investment scams over the years, was convicted of four felony counts in Wisconsin on June 10, after a week-long trial, Offshore Business Alert reported in its June 14 release.
Mr. Tedder, 56, of Winter Park, Fl., was convicted of conspiracy to violate the U.S. wire-wagering act, and conspiracy to launder the gambling profits.
The jury, sitting at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, also convicted the attorney of two money-laundering counts and ordered he forfeit $7.28 million in assets, with sentencing Aug. 18.
According to the report, the Mr. Tedder faces a maximum penalty for the gambling-conspiracy charge of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The money-laundering counts carry a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine each.
“The first conspiracy charge involved Tedder’s role as a conspirator in helping the operations of Gold Medal Sports, an offshore sports book located on the island of Curacao,” said the local U.S. attorney.
“At trial, the U.S. government presented evidence from Gold Medal’s two former owners, Duane Pede and Jeff D’Ambrosia, that Mr. Tedder was their lawyer who helped Gold Medal with various problems, including:
* getting around a ban on gamblers sending money to GMS via Western Union;
* creating shell corporations to hide Gold Medal’s ownership interest in other business entities;
* setting up offshore bank accounts in the Bahamas using fake names, including “Corpus Harem;”
* moving Gold Medal profits from banks in the United States to offshore accounts beyond the reach of U.S. laws;
* creating three layers of shell corporations to insulate D’Ambrosia’s ownership interest in Gold Medal; and
* pitching Gold Medal to invest millions in Tedder-run banks and investments.
The second charge involved a conspiracy to launder over $10 million in proceeds from GMS, sai the report.
At trial, the U.S. government presented evidence that Tedder:
(1) moved over $4 million in GMS profits from accounts in the United States to accounts in the Bahamas;
(2) convinced GMS owner Duane Pede to invest $1.2 million in GMS profits in an offshore bank owned by Tedder called Mariner’s International Bank (MIB) l in St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
(3) helped Pede spend GMS profits, including the purchase of a $200,000 cottage in northern Wisconsin;
(4) helped GMS owner Jeff D’Ambrosia spend GMS profits, including the funding and creation of a sports-management agency in Las Vegas, Nevada; and
(5) helped D’Ambrosia move $3.5 million in GMS profits from a Merrill Lynch account in the United States to Tedder’s MIB offshore bank after the NFL sued D’Ambrosia in early 2000 over a false advertisement in the USA Today newspaper.”
The report said that when cross-examining Tedder, the U.S. government presented evidence that he:
(a) resigned his California bar license in 2001 because of seven disciplinary findings by the California State Bar;
(2) was perpetually enjoined from practicing law in Florida in 2001;
(3) was sanctioned and penalized by judges in New York and California for unethical conduct during litigation;
(4) claimed to be an internationally renowned expert in asset protection without disclosing the fact that he filed two personal bankruptcies, both of which were dismissed by the court as being frivolous and;
(5) failed to file timely federal income tax returns in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, despite making nearly $1 million a year in those years.
“Tedder’s felony convictions cap a four-year undercover and financial investigation conducted by federal authorities into illegal offshore sports bookmaking and sports handicapping telemarketing services in Wisconsin, Las Vegas, Florida, and elsewhere. Tedder becomes the seventh defendant convicted of a felony offense in this investigation,” said the U.S. attorney.
“Gold Medal Sports pleaded guilty to racketeering on Dec. 4, 2001, sold its assets, and has forfeited more than $3.3 million in criminal earnings. Its main owners, Duane Pede and Jeff D’Ambrosia, pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2001, to filing false income tax returns and violating the wire wagering act. Each received a five-year prison term. Pede and D’Ambrosia also paid over $1.4 million in back taxes, and fines of $100,000 each.
“David Howard, a certified public accountant in Las Vegas, and Randy Moreau, an accountant in Miami, each pleaded guilty to an information in January, 2002, that charged both men with owning a share of GMS. Attorney Bruce Meagher pleaded guilty in April, 2002, to participating in the gambling conspiracy involving Gold Medal. He received one month in jail, five months of home detention, and a fine of $20,000. Gold Medal manager Rick McColley was indicted on Feb. 21, 2002. He is currently a fugitive.”
By Lindsay Thompson, The Nassau Guardian
