Interesting news comes from the Netherlands as Ferdy Roet has been convicted of embezzling $3.1 million. Der Telegraph reports that the 41-year-old received his sentence in a Zwolle court, located in the northeast part of the country. He will now serve a two-year prison sentence.
The Whole Conviction is One Massive Irony
The reason why this development is such an eye-catching story is that the money that Roet has been convicted of embezzling actually comes from a foundation that he set up to sue the Dutch Lottery for deception.
Loterijverlies.nl, which translates to Lottery Loss, is a foundation that asked for donations to fund the legal fight that Roet had with the lottery. In 2008, he sued the operator after he learned that the Dutch Lottery misled players on the chances of winning by not informing participants unsold tickets were competing for the prize pool. In doing so, the odds for its customers were diminished.
A total of 194,000 people joined after the decision of the court as they claimed that if they knew the real odds of winning, they wouldn’t have bought the tickets.
Prosecutors Stated That Roet Used the Money As His Own
Since the claims were tied up in litigation, prosecutors claimed that Roet started misusing the money from the fund as he used them as his own. He managed to create what prosecutors described as a “foreign piggy bank”. In other words, Roet created inflated invoices from an Isle of Man company.
Moreover, Dutch American journalist Eva Jinek confronted him in a 2017 talk show by shedding light on a multi-million loan that he provided himself with. The money was used to purchase a Lamborghini and a luxury villa.
After Roet was left speechless, he admitted to owning the off-shore company and that is when authorities started digging into the case.
In 2017, Roet was removed as the head of the foundation and in 2018, FIOD agents arrested him. A Rolls Royce was also found when authorities searched his home.
As for the members of Loterijverlies.nl, they are still waiting for their compensation and the Zwolle court judge said that if they want to get their money back, they will have to “pursue Roet in a civil case.”
As the Dutch Lottery and other operators are rising in popularity, authorities continue to make efforts into ensuring the safety of players and thus, do not allow similar scenario to take place. The KSA, which is the country’s regulator keeps a tight leash on the industry, which is of massive importance, especially in times when the residents are exposed to gambling.
The main goal here is to protect players and provide them with the most secure gambling experience.