Gambler charged with sending hundreds of violent messages to athletes

High-profile gambler charged with threatening to kill athletes in their sleep and burn their families alive in hundreds of violent online messages

High-profile gambler Benjamin ‘Parlay’ Patz is facing five years in federal prison for allegedly making violent and often racist threats to athletes via social media
Patz allegedly called an unidentified Blue Jays player the n-word, while referring to an Orioles player as ‘wetback.’ He also allegedly threatened specific violence
He allegedly wrote: ‘I WILL BRUTALLY RAPE AND MURDER YOUR FAMILY’
On another occasion Katz is said to have threatened a college basketball player at Pepperdine University: ‘Your throat will be severed open with a dull knife’
The case was investigated as part of the FBI’s Integrity in Sport and Gaming Initiative aimed at illegal gambling, threats and other criminal forms of influence
Several online articles claimed he had won $1 million in risky parlays in late 2019

A New York sports gambler is facing federal charges related to threatening and often racist social media messages sent to players with the Tampa Bay Rays, New England Patriots, and other teams, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa announced a charge of transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce against Benjamin Tucker Patz, 23. He faces up to five years in federal prison.

Patz, who resides in New York and California, goes by the moniker ‘Parlay Patz.’ Several online articles reported that he had won $1 million in risky parlays in late 2019. (A parlay is a bet that is contingent on several outcomes, rather than just one, but typically pays higher returns for winners).

Patz made numerous violent threats last year against athletes and their family members through anonymous Instagram accounts, according to a criminal complaint. In many messages, Patz threatened to enter the athletes’ homes and behead them or their family members, the FBI said. Some of Patz’s threats also contained derogatory terms and racial slurs, investigators said.

In one of the alleged direct messages, Patz is said to have told a Toronto Blue Jays player: ‘I WILL BEHEAD YOU N*****.’

Similarly an unidentified Baltimore Orioles player allegedly received a text from Patz reading: ‘Hola wetback.’

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa announced a charge of transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce against Benjamin Tucker Patz, 23. He faces up to five years in federal prison. Patz, who resides in New York and California, goes by the moniker ‘Parlay Patz’

Several online articles reported that he had won $1 million in risky parlays in late 2019

The Tampa Bay Rays lost a home game last July to the Chicago White Sox. An account linked to Patz later sent threatening Instagram messages to four players for the Rays and one player for the White Sox, according to authorities. None of the players were identified by name, only initials.

‘Your family will be beheaded,’ said one of the messages, quoted in the criminal complaint.

One White Sox player allegedly received a message from Patz reading: ‘I will sever your neck open you pathetic c***bag.’

Over the past year, Patz has sent threatening messages through social media to numerous professional athletes, investigators said. After losing $10,000 by betting on the Los Angeles Rams to win last year’s Super Bowl, Patz sent messages to two players on the game’s winning team, the New England Patriots, claiming that he would rape and murder their families, the indictment said.

‘I WILL BRUTALLY RAPE AND MURDER YOUR FAMILY,’ he allegedly wrote, adding: ‘I WILL ENTER YOUR HOME WHILE YOU SLEEP AND SEVER YOUR NECK OPEN WITH A DULL KNIFE.’

After losing $10,000 by betting on the Los Angeles Rams to win last year’s Super Bowl, Patz sent messages to two players on the game’s winning team, the New England Patriots, claiming that he would rape and murder their families, the indictment said

The Action Network’s Darren Rovell has written about Parlay Patz’s success extensively

In one of the alleged direct messages, Patz is said to have told a Toronto Blue Jays player: ‘I WILL BEHEAD YOU N*****.’ He also allegedly called a Baltimore Orioles player a ‘wetback’

Patz is accused of sending four threatening messages to a Pepperdine basketball player via Instagram in March of 2019.

Those alleged threats included:

‘Your throat will be severed open with a dull knife’
‘Your entire family will be beheaded and burned alive’
‘I will enter your home as you sleep and kill you’
‘Watch your back, you’re a dead man walking’

The complaint also lists threats against players for the Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres, the Oakland Athletics, the Cleveland Indians, the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals. One of Patz’s accounts also threatened a player for the Swedish women’s soccer team after they beat Germany in the Women’s World Cup Quarter-Final, instigators said.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Amy Filjones said Patz was charged in Florida’s Middle District because the Rays players were there when the threats were made. It wasn’t immediately clear if Patz would face charges in other districts for the other threats.

Patz had arranged to turn himself in but wasn’t yet in custody Wednesday evening, Filjones said. It wasn’t known if he had an attorney.

‘The safety of our players and staff is paramount and all threats are taken seriously,’ Rays spokesman Dave Haller said in a statement. ‘The Rays and the players involved are cooperating with the FBI as the legal process continues.’

The case was investigated as part of the FBI’s Integrity in Sport and Gaming Initiative, which is aimed at combating illegal sports gambling as well as threats and other criminal forms of influence.

The Action Network’s Darren Rovell featured Parlay Patz heavily on his own Twitter page

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