A professional poker player with a past history of fraud convictions at USA airports that spanned 13 states is facing charges once again after he was arrested on Saturday at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Police said Michael Borovetz, age 44, had a pretty believable ‘sob story'. His modus operandi was to approach travelers and get them to believe his "sad story in an attempt to get money, while promising to pay it back", according to a news report released Tuesday from the Wayne County Airport Authority.
As soon as he received the money, the poor victims will never see nor hear from him again.
According to the Hendon Mob, Borovetz from Pittsburgh has a total live earnings worth $589,958. Despite his pretty nice earnings in the past from playing professional poker, he admitted that he has a gambling problem and hasn't yet reported any live cashes so far this year. Since 2015, his poker earnings equate to $24,865, which means he had an income of less than $5,000 per year from his pro poker activities.
Apparently, he confessed in 2014 via a poker forum about his airport scam and explained that after he told a sad story to a very nice person who gave him money in the end, he will then gamble the cash and try to "win more money so I don't have to go to the airport anymore."
Authorities have received numerous complaints about Borovetz since 2015.
On Saturday, August 10, he was arrested thanks to a tip saying he would be spotted at Metro Airport while he was on his way from Seattle to Miami for a gambling-related trip.
On Monday, Borovetz was arraigned on two counts of false pretenses with intent to defraud. Both charges are misdemeanors punishable by a year behind bars. His bond was set at $100,000 or 10%.
Source:
https://nypost.com/2019/08/14/poker-player-michael-borovetz-busted-for-scamming-travelers-for-years/