Penn National Race Track horse trainers, employee charged with fraud

Bribery, doping, fabricating times alleged at Penn National Race Track

UPDATED 6:55 PM EST Nov 22, 2013

GRANTVILLE, Pa. —Four people associated with the Penn National Race Track in Grantville are being charged with fraud, according to the U.S Department of Justice.

• Danny Robertson indictment

• Patricia Rogers indictment

• Samuel Webb indictment

• David Wells indictment

The accusations range from doping horses and faking times, to bribery -- all to fix races at the Penn National track. The indictments against the four were unsealed Friday. You can read them each here:
Danny Robertson | Patricia Rogers | Samuel Webb | David Wells
"The indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg on Wednesday and were unsealed following arrests of four individuals earlier today," a USDOJ news release states.

"According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, David Wells, 39, of Grantville, Sam Webb, 63, of Jonestown, Patricia Anne Rogers, 43, of Hummelstown, and Danny Robertson, 63, of Hershey, were charged individually in four separate indictments."

Wells, Webb and Rogers are all horse trainers. According to the DOJ release, they are accused of "devising a scheme to defraud those betting on thoroughbred races at Penn National Racetrack by attempting to administer, and administering in violation of state racing rules and regulations, substances prohibited from being introduced into a horse within 24 hours of when the horse is scheduled to race."

DOJ: Trainers caught with syringes
Webb: On May 2, 2013, the indictment states that Webb was detected by track security personnel in a stall at the racetrack in possession of hypodermic syringes, needles and bottles of medications preparing to inject the horse “Papaleo” that Webb trained and which was scheduled to run in the sixth race that day. The horse was scratched from the race by racing officials.

Rogers: On August, 21, 2013, the indictment states that track security caught Rogers with hypodermic syringes and needles and bottles of medications and was observed injecting or attempting to inject a substance into a horse named “Strong Resolve” that she trained, and that was scheduled to run in the second race that day. The horse was scratched from the race by racing officials.

Wells: The indictment charging Wells alleges that Wells, both a trainer and horse owner, for several years up to and including February 2012, would routinely inject prohibited substances into horses he trained and other horses he both trained and owned, by use of hypodermic syringes and needles and otherwise. It is also alleged that Wells was routinely in possession of those prohibited items at the racetrack in violation of state rules, regulations and laws.

Indictment - Track employee was bribed

 

Danny Robertson, who was a clocker at the track, provided racing officials and others with official workout times for horses. Betters would rely on these times to place bets. Robertson is accused of providing false times in exchange for cash paid by trainers, who stood to make more money if their horses were long-shots that won or placed.

 

The Department of Justice says the accused face up to up to 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted of wire fraud or attempted wire fraud. They also face an additional 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted of using and attempting to use the intestate wire mechanism provided by the simulcasting of races to defraud or for attempting to defraud the public through the rigging of a publicly exhibited contest in violation of state law. Rogers faces an additional potential 20-year term of imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine if convicted of the charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud.

Bets are placed on Penn National races at 116 places across the country and world because they are simulcast by wire and television.

The investigation is not over. The FBI, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Horse Racing Commission, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are still looking into what happened.

Penn National released the following statement Friday afternoon:

"Management at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course has confirmed that four individuals were arrested on track property Friday morning.

Three of the individuals were licensed trainers that run horses at the racetrack and the fourth was an employee of the track. The employee has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

The trainers in question are not employees of Penn National. Management is waiting taking any possible action pending determination by the PA State Horse Racing Commission on the status of the trainers’ licenses.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course takes this matter very seriously and will cooperate fully with law enforcement for the swift settlement of these issues."
VIDEO: Click here to see reaction from the racing community.


Read more: http://www.wgal.com/news/susquehanna-valley/dauphin/breaking-penn-national-race-track-horse-trainers-employee-charged-with-fraud/-/9704162/23106654/-/6rw27j/-/index.html#ixzz2lQfFLNhK