0:00

Wonder. A Plus! Subscribers can listen to Scam

0:02

Flu answers early and ad free right now. Join

0:04

Wonder A Plus and the Wonder He App or

0:06

Apple Podcasts. Saatchi.

0:14

I think it's safe to say we're

0:17

both not really gifted when it comes

0:19

to sports. So which sport if

0:21

any, do as you are really good

0:24

at. Okay, that's a rude assumption

0:26

to make about me. What if I'm

0:28

great at them? Do Not. Have

0:31

it. Just wanted to suggest that I

0:33

good V I know this is too

0:35

bad but I remember feeling such shame

0:38

of are being bad at track and

0:40

field which was a mandatory part of

0:42

gym class at my schools and I

0:44

wish I could have done any of

0:47

them Anything Shot put are jumping over

0:49

that big bar or jumping over the

0:51

little bars. Anything Jumping. On a track

0:53

I think I wish I could. Do. That. Is

0:55

really true. I wish I could run. I

0:58

wish to just simply run. Yeah, that would

1:00

be fine. What my is tennis? because it's

1:02

not a team sport and it's kind of

1:05

glamorous. like. Okay, Is there universe? we

1:07

can kinda see me as a tennis star?

1:09

Ah no. Only cause you just have so

1:11

many limbs you're so tall is not good.

1:13

I don't know. I feel like the be

1:16

going all over the place like watching an

1:18

octopus play. That is fair. Okay,

1:21

so I'm going to tell your

1:23

story about tennis, but sadly there's

1:25

absolutely zero glamour. Hear this story

1:27

is about the tennis pros. We

1:29

don't hear about the ones where

1:31

scraping by hoping for their shot

1:33

at success until they get an

1:36

offer. The truly. Cannot refuse.

1:42

In September, Twenty fourteen and Greg or

1:44

Sarkozy and standing in the lobby of

1:46

a cheap hotel about two hours outside

1:48

of Brussels, Belgium. Gregorius: Twenty four years

1:51

old, but a scruffy beard and manicured.

1:53

Browse, He's in law school,

1:55

but he's bored as hell. he's

1:57

looking for some excitement and the chance to make

1:59

some money That's why he's come to

2:01

this small town in Belgium. There's a tennis tournament

2:03

here, and he's going to bet on it. This

2:06

tournament is small, nothing like Wimbledon or

2:08

the US Open. The grand prize is

2:11

just $10,000. It's not

2:13

even enough to cover most players' travel

2:15

expenses. Gregor

2:18

looks around and watches the players prepare for

2:20

their matches. Some are stringing

2:22

their own rackets. Others pace

2:25

around nervously. Gregor's trying to

2:27

scope out a target and convince one of them

2:29

to lose their set on purpose. He's

2:32

not so different from these scrappy players, really. He's

2:35

young, tight on cash, and willing to take a

2:37

risk. He's using a good chunk

2:39

of his life savings, $350, to place a bet and hopefully

2:41

win big. Gregor

2:45

is looking for a player from far away,

2:48

like Latin America or Africa. He

2:50

thinks they might be more willing to throw a match

2:52

because they'll want this trip to Belgium to at least

2:54

pay for itself. Then

2:57

Gregor spots his mark, an athlete

2:59

sitting alone. He approaches a

3:01

kid and asks, do you like gambling? He

3:04

says he'll pay the athlete a fee up

3:06

front to throw the match, and the player

3:08

agrees instantly. I would happily be

3:10

paid to lose things. I do it for

3:13

free all the time. I mean, I would definitely say

3:15

yes. But this humble little

3:17

scam is about to balloon and

3:19

turn Gregor into a high-flying international

3:21

man of mystery. He'll become known throughout

3:23

the tennis world as the Maestro, and

3:26

end up carrying out one of the

3:28

biggest, most organized match-fixing rings in the

3:30

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5:01

Wondery, I'm Sarah Hagee and I'm

5:03

Saatchi Cole and this is Scampolent.

5:14

The world of professional tennis is known

5:17

for big-name stars and millions of dollars

5:19

in prizes but it's also full

5:21

of struggling players barely scraping by.

5:24

When they're approached by a charming scammer

5:26

with an opportunity too good to resist some

5:29

of them end up staking their careers in a

5:31

very dangerous game. This

5:33

is Game Set Scam. In

5:41

2006 Gregor Sargassen is

5:43

just an average 16 year old. It's

5:45

long before he throws himself into a

5:47

life of crime and one day he's

5:49

walking around his hometown of Brussels Belgium when

5:52

he passes a storefront. In

5:54

the window there's a television playing the French

5:56

Open. It's one of the biggest

5:58

professional tennis tournaments in the sport. alongside

6:00

Wimbledon and the Australian Open. But

6:03

Gregor doesn't know that. He's

6:05

never seen tennis before, but he's

6:07

mesmerized. The game reminds him of

6:10

his first love, chess, and

6:12

he intuitively picks up on the player's strategy.

6:15

Gregor and his family immigrated from Armenia when

6:17

he was nine, and they settled in one

6:19

of Russell's poorest neighborhoods. He realized

6:22

early on that he needed to use his smarts

6:24

to fit in, so he learned French,

6:26

studied social cues to help make friends, and

6:29

used his photographic memory to ace his

6:31

schoolwork. These skills also turned

6:33

him into a chess prodigy. He

6:35

rose through the ranks of a local chess club. He

6:38

was so good that at the age of 13, he

6:40

earned the chance to play against the former

6:42

world champion and a totally car pop. I've

6:45

actually got a picture of this match. Sachi,

6:47

check it out. Oh

6:49

my God, okay, it's this little

6:51

kid. He's so small. He's

6:54

playing chess with an adult man, and then

6:57

there are a bunch of other adult men

7:00

circled around him watching. He looks

7:02

like a baby. I know, it's

7:04

really cute. But Gregor eventually quits

7:06

chess. The matches got too stressful

7:09

and overwhelmed him. But

7:11

after he sees tennis for the first time

7:13

in the storefront window, he rushes to sign

7:15

up for his high school team. And

7:17

he finds that tennis gives him the same sense

7:19

of excitement he used to get from chess. Both

7:22

are games of strategy and anticipation.

7:25

Players have to predict what their opponent is gonna do

7:28

and then figure out how to outmaneuver them. They

7:31

have to time their moves just right to

7:33

catch the other player off guard. Like

7:36

chess, tennis attracts a wealthy

7:38

upper class crowd. Tournaments are

7:40

sponsored by luxury brands like Rolex,

7:43

Lexus, and Amex. So

7:45

Gregor does what he does best. He

7:47

anticipates and adapts. He

7:49

becomes really good at code switching between the

7:52

world of Europe's elite and his working class

7:54

roots. During school hours, he

7:56

plays tennis, speaks multiple languages, and

7:58

gets good grades. But after

8:00

school, back in his own neighborhood, Gregor

8:02

plays along with his friends' pranks and

8:05

commits petty crimes. Sometimes, they'll

8:07

all sneak into a bougie grocery store

8:09

in the city and take off with

8:11

caviar, lobster, and even champagne. He's

8:14

a sharp kid who understands how to act the part

8:16

to fit in and get ahead in this world. And

8:19

he intends to do just that. About

8:23

eight years later, Gregor is 24 years old and

8:26

sleepwalking his way through law school while still living

8:28

with his parents. He's on

8:30

a very traditional path, but

8:32

he's bored. He feels like he's

8:34

wasting his talents. His neighborhood friends

8:36

have started hanging around a bookie and they

8:38

spend all their money betting on soccer. All

8:41

they want to talk about is their most recent bets.

8:44

Gregor's intrigued. He likes

8:46

gambling. It's yet another game of

8:49

analysis, anticipation, and opportunity. But

8:51

soccer isn't his thing. Tennis

8:53

is. So he starts to wonder, why not

8:56

bet on tennis? It

8:58

turns out Gregor is onto something. Tennis

9:01

might have the image of a high-class

9:03

gentleman sport, but it has a shady

9:05

history. Investigators and regulators

9:08

have called tennis, quote, the

9:10

world's most manipulated sport. That's

9:12

in part because there's just so much to

9:14

bet on. There are tons of leagues, way

9:16

more than just the ones where the

9:18

most famous players compete. The International

9:21

Tennis Federation, or I.T.F., for example,

9:23

is the lowest level of professional

9:25

tennis. That league alone holds

9:28

hundreds of tournaments a year all over

9:30

the world. Gambling can

9:32

also bet not just on each

9:34

match, but even individual points and sets

9:36

within those matches. It's

9:39

so funny how interesting tennis is

9:41

to gamblers because there are so

9:43

many games and there's all these

9:45

little subsections of things that you

9:47

can bet on. Like there are

9:50

infinite ways to lose money gambling

9:52

on tennis. There are. But tennis

9:54

gambling really takes off. Around

9:56

this time, it's already estimated to be

9:58

a multi-billion dollar in. industry. But unlike

10:00

some of the rich people he's met while

10:03

playing chess and tennis, Gregor

10:05

doesn't have a ton of extra money lying around.

10:08

And he doesn't want to be stressing over the bets

10:10

he places like some of his friends. So

10:12

he comes up with a solution. He'll

10:14

find a way to get the results of a

10:17

match before it happens and bet accordingly. He

10:19

just needs a player to help him work the system

10:21

and ring the game in his favor. Gregor

10:24

decides to focus on the down and out

10:26

pros struggling in the ITF, that lowest league.

10:29

He knows how grueling their schedules are. They

10:31

need to buy their own gear and pay

10:33

for their own training just to earn a

10:36

spot in tournaments. Once they

10:38

get in, the travel is non-stop. There

10:40

are so many tournaments all year, all

10:42

around the world. And players

10:44

front that cost themselves. Gregor

10:47

knows that almost anything he offers these

10:49

players will be pretty enticing. If he

10:51

convinces them to lose on purpose, they'll

10:53

both win. It's

10:55

a great plan, in theory, but

10:58

Gregor needs to put it into action. So

11:00

he finds an ITF tournament happening nearby

11:03

in a small town just two hours

11:05

away. This is a tournament I told you about at

11:07

the beginning of the episode. Gregor

11:09

is in that dingy hotel and he narrows in

11:11

on a player who he hopes will be down

11:13

to play along. The player agrees

11:15

to lose the second set of his

11:18

match in exchange for $600. I

11:21

know I said earlier that I would happily be

11:23

paid to lose anything, but $600 is

11:26

not enough. Like, I would refuse to lose

11:28

a game of tic-tac-toe for 600 bucks. Well,

11:31

you're obviously not a struggling athlete,

11:34

but this player delivers for Gregor.

11:36

Thanks to the 11-to-1 odds

11:38

on the match, Gregor's bet of a

11:40

few hundred bucks turns into $4,000. More

11:44

than enough to pay the athlete the $600

11:46

he promised with plenty left over for himself.

11:49

Gregor is ecstatic. When

11:51

he asks if the player knows anyone else who

11:53

would want in on the scheme, the

11:55

player says, definitely. Gregor

11:58

wastes no time cultivating a scheme. Level

12:00

of players willing to manipulate. Matches. And

12:02

because he knows several languages, you

12:04

can talk. To players from all

12:06

around the world as harm earn their

12:08

trust. Anyone. Who still has

12:11

concerns, might be convince and isn't. What

12:13

part are swearing He. Buys. A Rolex

12:15

with the money from his first, he

12:17

fixes and slashes it subtly. When talking

12:19

to you players, he pretends to forget

12:21

that he's wearing it and if anyone

12:23

asks him about it, acts like it's

12:25

no big are struggling athletes fall for

12:27

the act, hook, line, and sinker. I

12:30

think it's impressive the way that men

12:32

always find a way to trick people

12:35

with watches. It's always a lot. It

12:37

really is always a lot. It's always

12:39

a lot. While Gregor has come up

12:41

with the perfect way to combine his

12:43

love of tennis with is assessing with

12:45

strategy and make tons of money doing

12:47

it once he gets an early taste

12:49

as success, his own ambitions kickin. Because

12:52

Gregory not looking to be a small

12:54

time looking, he's out to be the.

12:56

World's biggest name and tennis Match

12:58

fixing. And

13:02

twenty sixteen. For you are some steps

13:04

onto court in his native on Sept.

13:06

Twenty two years old with a round

13:08

face and intends eyes. She's. Nervous

13:10

which is unusual because this isn't

13:12

the biggest mass claims ever played

13:14

and by far. Is. Taking

13:17

place in a small tennis. Club next to

13:19

a shopping mall or is the first time will

13:21

be throwing a mass for someone known in the

13:23

tennis world as the Maestro. Only

13:25

spoken to him overtaxed but agreed to

13:27

lose a match in exchange for guaranteed

13:29

cas. Per, he needs

13:31

to be one of Africa's fastest rising

13:34

tennis stars. He was highly ranked and

13:36

had a killer serve. Even played in

13:38

the Australian. And French opens. He

13:41

was fighting to work his way up. In the sport and

13:43

his dad was came from Alabama. But

13:45

after the Arab. Spring his family's lumber company

13:48

fell on hard times. Karim wanted to

13:50

get into bigger, more prestigious tournaments so

13:52

he could win more money, but he

13:54

had to pay to train for and

13:57

traveled to these competitions. for

13:59

Karim struggled through it, but about three

14:02

years before this match in Egypt, he was

14:04

approached by another player on the tour. The

14:07

player asked if he'd be willing to throw a match for

14:09

$1,000. Karim

14:11

was curious and agreed. But

14:13

even after getting his cash, he wasn't

14:15

planning on making match fixing a regular thing.

14:18

He later said that he told his father about

14:20

it and his dad was pissed. He

14:23

told Karim he was ruining his life and

14:25

his career. If a tennis

14:27

player is found guilty of fixing even

14:29

one match, they can be disqualified for

14:31

life. But a couple

14:33

of years later, Karim's financial stream got

14:36

even more intense. His father

14:38

was diagnosed with cancer and any money left

14:40

went to medical bills. If

14:42

Karim wanted to continue with tennis, he had to

14:44

make it on his own. Then

14:47

Karim was introduced to Gregor. They

14:49

met via text. Gregor talked to

14:51

Karim like a friend. Karim felt like

14:53

he could trust him. So he

14:55

agreed to start working with him. I'm

14:59

a little surprised by how little work

15:01

Gregor has to do to get these

15:03

people to trust him. I

15:05

mean, he certainly is a charmer. And

15:08

this match in Egypt is the first

15:10

time Karim will actually lose on purpose

15:12

for Gregor. Despite the panic

15:14

he starts to feel, after Karim

15:17

loses the first set, nothing happens.

15:19

The audience applauds and the umpire continues

15:21

the game. Karim's in the

15:24

clear. And whatever misgivings he had

15:26

on the court quickly disappear. He

15:28

gets his first payment right after the game. Over

15:31

the next few months, Karim continues to throw

15:34

matches. Gregor pays fast and

15:36

he always seems available to respond to

15:38

messages. Business is good. And

15:41

when Karim finally meets Gregor in person,

15:43

he's even more impressed with his new

15:45

mentor. Gregor is dressed to

15:47

the nines, has tons of charisma, and

15:49

takes Karim to a fancy restaurant. He

15:52

seems to be a man who enjoys the finer things and

15:54

is happy to share them. You

15:57

know, that's nice. If you're gonna rip people off,

15:59

you should share the wealth. I mean, it is

16:01

the least he could do because he is

16:03

profiting quite a lot off these people. But

16:06

working with Gregor gives Karim the financial

16:08

security he's been desperate for. And when

16:10

Gregor asks if he knows anyone else

16:13

who'd be willing to throw matches Karim

16:15

says, Hell yeah. And he starts recruiting.

16:18

Karim quickly contacts other players he knows.

16:21

He even gets his younger brother to join the scam.

16:23

He is all in. Karim has put

16:26

his trust and his future in Gregor's

16:28

hands. And he is not the only

16:31

one. The

16:33

good times are definitely rolling in

16:35

for Gregor. Based on his spending

16:38

habits, it seems like he's raking in

16:40

tens of thousands of dollars a week. He's

16:42

enjoying the hell out of it. He

16:44

travels all over Europe to watch tennis.

16:46

He wears Hugo Boss and drives a

16:49

Jaguar, eats at the fanciest

16:51

restaurants, and stays in the best hotels.

16:54

The way he flaunts his wealth isn't just

16:56

a matter of personal style. It's also a

16:58

recruitment tactic. It makes the

17:00

tennis players even more excited to work

17:02

with him. Even some coaches get in

17:05

on the scam and help with recruitment.

17:08

This is like a really male

17:11

MLM. Actually, that is

17:13

a very good description. But

17:16

Gregor sees himself as more of a

17:18

Robin Hood figure. He wins bets placed

17:20

by the rich and spreads the earnings

17:22

among the struggling tennis players. To him,

17:24

the real crime is how professional tennis

17:26

operates, by squeezing thousands of low-ranking players

17:28

for every penny they have on the

17:31

off chance that they can make it

17:33

big. Gregor knows that in

17:35

order to keep growing his operation, he's also

17:37

got to keep his players happy. So he

17:39

gives him different options for how to win

17:41

the fix. He shows him how much they'd

17:43

earn throwing just a few points versus

17:45

a full set for an entire

17:47

match. He also takes time

17:49

to show the young athletes that he cares.

17:52

Like when one of his recruits can't afford to

17:54

buy his girlfriend an engagement ring, Gregor affronts

17:56

the bill. He also pays for another

17:59

one of his fixers Why his mom

18:01

out to his wedding? Things are going

18:03

so well for Gregori that even if

18:05

a player doesn't throw the match exactly

18:07

how the agreed so given the cost

18:09

anyway, he knows that gestures big and

18:11

small. Keep his peers happy and

18:13

will. His reputation earns him the

18:15

nickname the Maestro. I

18:18

know the nicer as a nickname from

18:21

Seinfeld that I silly season this context.

18:23

it's much more nefarious. It sounds like

18:25

a supervillain name. I feel like he's

18:27

trying to build as really powerful ethos

18:30

around himself. Yeah, it is pretty sinister,

18:32

but also appropriate because he's conducting a

18:34

ton of other. People. Greg.

18:36

Or the operation involves more than just

18:39

players and coaches, they're also a bunch

18:41

of other gamblers that actually place bets

18:43

for him. This network has made up

18:45

of working class armenians by Greg or

18:47

used to be there mechanics. Taxi drivers

18:50

and even a pizza delivery guy.

18:52

He. Worked together and bet small to. Avoid

18:54

scrutiny and then sped the winnings

18:57

around the most important. Of them is

18:59

a thirty something man in Armenia name undrawn,

19:01

a. Murderous yen. He's the money

19:03

guy. We. Don't know how Greg

19:05

or and and run a command A

19:07

he becomes a central player and Greg

19:10

or schemes when Greg or is unable

19:12

to personally delivered duffel bags of past

19:14

his players on drawn Aca reigns as

19:16

the drops for them. Oh. And Andreas

19:18

doing this all from prison. He

19:20

serving a six year sentence for

19:22

hooliganism. that is the official. Tears

19:24

she assaulted several men and a

19:26

night club name's Holly and Ted.

19:29

Okay, Cool. Again, isn't for

19:31

assault. I'm not sure if that makes

19:33

a lotta sense, but I would be

19:35

remiss if we didn't talk about the

19:37

nightclub in called Kalyan Tate, which is

19:39

a perfect name for any establishment. Yeah,

19:42

we got ahead of time and. Or

19:44

damaged. By this

19:46

point, Gregory's match fixing scheme is one

19:48

of the biggest in the world. Involves

19:51

one hundred and eighty. Players are more

19:53

than thirty five countries. The

19:55

rig at least several hundred matches

19:57

and generate millions. Of. dollars But

20:00

Gregor has to be careful to cover his tracks.

20:03

He often sleeps at his parents' apartment in

20:05

his old bedroom with all his chess

20:07

championship medals, just so no one suspects

20:09

he's as wealthy as he really is. He even

20:11

takes shifts at a Polish deli where his parents

20:13

work. Just like when he

20:15

was a kid, Gregor is code-switching between

20:17

his two lives. He tells the

20:20

players he works with to keep a low profile too, and

20:23

gives them SIM cards registered anonymously so

20:25

their calls and texts can't be tracked back

20:27

to him. Gregor is

20:29

extra cautious about every aspect of

20:31

a scam. But at the same

20:34

time, match-fixing has exploded in the

20:36

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20:38

doesn't know is that the authorities are about

20:40

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And I feel like a... Buh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh.

22:37

In January 2016, BuzzFeed

22:39

News and the BBC published an

22:42

investigation that exposes the enormous scale

22:44

of tennis match-fixing. It

22:46

drops just before the Australian Open is set

22:48

to begin. This investigation is

22:50

about games played years ago,

22:52

while before Gregor started match-fixing.

22:55

But it makes schemes like his the talk of

22:57

the tennis world. Take a listen to

22:59

this report from BBC World News. Over

23:02

the last decade, 16 players who have

23:04

ranked in the top 50 have

23:06

been repeatedly reported over suspicions

23:08

that they've thrown matches. The

23:11

report suggests that tennis-fixing could be

23:13

driven by organized crime rings in Russia

23:15

and Italy. And it alleges that

23:17

the International Tennis Federation and the other

23:20

groups that oversee the sport had been

23:22

warned about suspicious betting activity many

23:24

times, but seemed to have mirrored it.

23:27

They haven't issued any punishments or sanctions

23:29

on any suspected players. Days

23:31

after the report comes out, leaders

23:33

of the various governing bodies announce

23:35

an independent review of how they

23:37

handle suspicious activity. They know

23:39

it will be a hard thing to get to the

23:42

bottom of, because there's no easy way to prove a

23:44

player is losing on purpose. They

23:46

decide they need to find the person setting

23:48

up the fixes, like the Russian or Italian

23:50

gamblers, or Gregor. All

23:54

the attention on rooting out match-fixing

23:56

eventually wears on Gregor. He

23:58

becomes paranoid. starts to suspect that

24:00

his phone is being tapped and that he's being

24:02

followed. When his girlfriend starts asking about

24:05

where he gets all his money, he breaks up

24:07

with her. Even his mother starts

24:09

to worry. Sarah, as you

24:11

know, anytime I go out with anybody, I do

24:13

a full background check on them. And

24:15

high on the list of questions I ask is,

24:18

where does your money come from? And it

24:20

is fishy if they won't answer it. It's

24:22

funny because you're not joking about the background

24:24

check thing. No, I would never. Well,

24:27

Gregor's stress starts to affect his business,

24:29

and it changes how he interacts with

24:32

his players. His cool,

24:34

easygoing attitude becomes frantic and

24:36

controlling. He yells at a

24:38

French player for posting an Instagram story showing

24:41

him throwing money around at a nightclub. And

24:43

he also starts pressing his players harder

24:46

about making sure they throw matches convincingly.

24:49

He thinks that obvious moves like missing two

24:51

serves in a row are sure

24:53

to draw attention. Gregor

24:55

used to steal pay players even if they

24:57

messed up a six. But

24:59

now he'll fly into a rage. At

25:02

one point, when one of his recruits screws

25:04

up, he texts the player's coach saying, quote,

25:06

I will break his legs. Iconic.

25:12

Listen, if you're going to be nuts, like just

25:14

be direct. Why beat around the bush? Yeah, yeah.

25:17

You know what? Text someone I'm going to break his

25:19

legs. That makes sense to me. Yeah, honestly, it is a very

25:21

good line. And I need you to text me that one day.

25:24

It makes sense that he's so mad because

25:26

Gregor is going to great lengths to cover

25:28

his tracks. But he can't be sure that

25:30

his collaborators are doing the same. And

25:33

now that his network involves hundreds of

25:35

people, any small slip up could potentially

25:37

bring down the whole operation. It's like

25:40

a great poet once said, just

25:42

because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not

25:45

after you. Around

25:49

the time the match fixing report comes

25:52

out, Detective Nicholas Boromans attends a briefing

25:54

at a federal prosecutor's office in

25:56

Belgium. Nicholas is 45 years

25:59

old and bald. with an icy stare

26:01

and steely confidence. He

26:03

spent much of his career tracking down carjacking

26:05

rings, but he's intrigued by

26:07

the meeting today about, of all things,

26:10

tennis. Belgium's gambling commission is

26:12

telling the detectives about suspicious bets

26:14

they flagged. The bets are

26:16

being placed on matches held inside the country.

26:19

The thing that really stands out is that

26:21

the bets are on the most obscure matches

26:23

imaginable. And they aren't usually about

26:26

the outcome of the entire match.

26:28

They're on very specific and improbable

26:30

outcomes in individual sets and points.

26:33

I think it's so interesting how scams

26:35

can be revealed if they're

26:38

simultaneously too specific and then

26:40

also too broad. This is an example

26:43

of it getting too specific. I know there's

26:45

a sweet spot that not many people know

26:47

about and I've yet to discover. It's

26:49

hard to stay in the pocket. Well,

26:51

Nicholas isn't a tennis man, but

26:54

something about this potentially illegal activity

26:56

intrigues him. And since none of

26:58

his coworkers are interested in the case, Nicholas

27:01

volunteers to take it on. He

27:03

goes all in chasing leads. He finds

27:05

more than 1,600 accounts

27:07

at bet shops across Europe related

27:09

to the suspicious activity. Eventually,

27:12

he zeros in on a handful of gamblers who

27:15

place the majority of the bets, several

27:17

Armenian immigrants living in Belgium. He

27:20

also finds out they're reporting to someone known

27:23

throughout the tennis world as the maestro. It's

27:26

a big break, but the maestro has been

27:28

so good at covering his tracks that in 2017,

27:31

after a year of digging, Nicholas hits

27:34

a wall. Still, none of

27:36

his colleagues are all that interested in helping

27:38

out. He's frustrated, but

27:40

little does he know that another

27:42

investigator all the way across the world

27:44

is hot on the maestro's tail too. Just

27:50

when it looks like the maestro case has

27:52

run cold, Nicholas gets a call from the

27:54

Tennis Integrity Unit. That is a

27:57

real thing. It was created in 2008. by

28:00

tennis's governing bodies to stamp out

28:02

match-fixing. The person calling is Dee

28:04

Bain. She explains she's

28:06

a former detective inspector with the

28:08

Metropolitan Police in London, where she

28:10

went after match-fixers in the world of cricket.

28:13

But she's also crazy about tennis.

28:15

And now, she works at the

28:17

Integrity Unit. Dee tells Nicholas that

28:19

she heard about his investigation from a source

28:22

at Interpol. She says her team is about

28:24

to make a bust that might blow his

28:26

case wide open. Ever since

28:28

that BBC and BuzzFeed News investigation came

28:30

out, Dee and her colleagues at the Integrity

28:33

Unit have been under a lot of pressure

28:35

to find tennis cheaters and clean up the

28:37

sport. And she tells Nicholas that they

28:39

think they've got a promising lead. Facebook

28:42

messages from an Egyptian player named Kareem,

28:44

asking another player to fix a match.

28:47

She's about to go to a Tunisian tournament

28:49

to confront Kareem in person. Nicholas

28:52

cannot believe his luck. This could be

28:54

the break he's looking for. After

28:57

the tournament, Dee calls Nicholas back.

28:59

She says she and her colleague confronted Kareem

29:02

at his hotel, and he basically

29:04

folded immediately. He

29:06

told Dee everything about tanking matches

29:08

for a big-time fixer out of

29:10

Brussels and recruiting other players to

29:12

the scheme. She also says

29:14

a decryption expert has taken a look at

29:16

Kareem's phone and managed to get the

29:19

contact info for someone who seems to be

29:21

the match-fixing boss. Nicholas is

29:23

thrilled. Maybe this belongs to

29:25

the Maestro. Oh, boy, this

29:27

really feels like the walls are shredded and

29:29

closed in. Oh, yeah. And when Nicholas gets

29:31

the phone number, he sees there's no name

29:33

attached to it. But he can tell whoever

29:35

used it just flew from Brussels to

29:37

Berlin. He looks at flight records

29:40

to see if any of his Armenian gamblers show

29:42

up, and one name checks out.

29:44

Gregor Sargasson. Nicholas

29:47

gets 10 of his colleagues together,

29:49

and they start doing undercover surveillance,

29:51

tracking Gregor's every move. They're

29:53

taking pictures with a telephoto lens, hoping

29:55

to catch him in the act. The

29:58

team follows his almost daily trip. of Paris

30:00

where he meets with players. And

30:02

before long, Nicholas hits paydirt.

30:05

He snaps a photo of Gregor literally

30:08

accepting duffel bags full of cash from

30:10

an Armenian contact. Nicholas suspects

30:12

that Gregor is using that cash to

30:14

pay players and make bets. This

30:17

is exactly the kind of evidence

30:19

he needed. He's about to

30:21

send the maestro's world to its breaking

30:23

point. It's

30:29

the early morning of June 5, 2018. Nicholas

30:32

is posted up at the police station a couple

30:34

of hours outside of Brussels. Today,

30:37

it's a command center overseeing a

30:39

multi-site raid intended to bring down

30:41

Gregor's tennis match-fixing racket in one

30:43

fell swoop. Nicholas is

30:45

listening into the radio as officers get

30:48

ready to pounce. That photo

30:50

of Gregor was all Nicholas needed to

30:52

get a Belgian court to approve a

30:54

raid and an arrest warrant. But his

30:56

investigation doesn't end with Gregor. He

30:59

and his colleagues plan to arrest 20 other

31:01

people involved in Gregor's scheme, along

31:04

with seven Belgian pro tennis players.

31:06

Nicholas's colleagues radio him to say

31:08

they've spotted Gregor at his parents'

31:11

house in his pajamas. As

31:13

they storm into his room, Gregor lunges for the

31:15

burner phones on his bedside table. But

31:18

he's not quick enough to

31:20

cop-scrap him. They now have their

31:22

man and their evidence. When

31:24

police dig into his phones, they discover that he

31:27

was working on a fix just minutes before

31:29

they showed up. They arrest Gregor and bring

31:31

him to jail. Well,

31:33

if it isn't the consequences, this

31:35

is actions here at last. Also,

31:38

in your pajamas, in your childhood

31:40

bedroom, that is humiliating. That's a

31:42

new low, I got to say.

31:44

Well, about a week later, Nicholas gets

31:47

a chance to speak to the maestro

31:49

himself at a prison in Bruges. Though

31:51

it's an interrogation, at times it

31:53

feels more like a bro hang. Nicholas

31:55

later says that Gregor is, quote, the

31:58

kind of guy you want to get a drink with. Gregor

32:00

might be charming, but all through

32:02

the interrogation, he avoids revealing any

32:05

of his motivations, actions, or operations.

32:08

He smirks and shrugs off Nicholas'

32:10

interrogation techniques. Gregor clearly doesn't

32:12

seem to regret what he did. Nicholas

32:15

later tells The Washington Post that he thinks

32:17

Gregor feels like his scam wasn't a crime,

32:19

it was just being smart. But

32:21

his life is crumbling around him. And after

32:24

years of rigging the system, Gregor is

32:26

about to say some things he can't

32:29

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33:20

is held in prison and bruised for

33:22

10 months. To stay busy, he

33:24

reads a copy of crime and punishment in

33:26

its original Russian. He's always

33:28

fancied himself a good guy, flying in the

33:30

face of a crooked system by giving struggling

33:33

players extra money. And now,

33:35

reading crime and punishment in prison, he's

33:38

more convinced of his righteousness than ever.

33:41

Can you read what he later tells the Washington

33:43

Post? Yeah, he said, honestly,

33:45

it made me proud of what

33:47

I'd done. I think that's a

33:49

bit of a misreading of crime

33:51

and punishment, but also this is

33:54

an iconic sentence. So I am

33:56

again kind of on board. Well,

33:58

despite his lack of Morse, Gregor

34:00

is released from prison to await

34:02

trial. It's not until two

34:05

years later that he's convicted by

34:07

a Belgian court of money laundering,

34:09

fraud, and leading a criminal organization.

34:11

He's sentenced to five years in prison. He

34:14

later told The Washington Post, quote, if

34:16

the prosecutors knew what I know, there

34:19

would be many more people on trial. Around

34:21

the same time in November 2023, seven Belgian players

34:25

connected to Gregor are suspended from the

34:27

sport. But to this day,

34:29

it's unclear how many others were involved

34:32

in the tennis match fixing operation and

34:34

how high it went. Kareem

34:36

and his brother Yousuf are also banned

34:38

from pro tennis for life. From

34:40

what we know, Kareem is now coaching

34:43

kids in Egypt while Yousuf is playing

34:45

professional paddle tennis. It's like a combination

34:47

of tennis and racquetball. Andronik

34:49

was released from prison in 2021. He

34:53

now lives in a mansion in Armenia

34:55

and is rumored to be a part

34:57

of the Armenian mafia and actively involved

34:59

with professional soccer. His cousin founded a

35:01

team called West Armenia in the Armenian

35:04

Premier League and his father runs it. I'm

35:07

confident that everything that's happening in that league

35:09

is totally above board. Yeah, he obviously learned

35:12

his lesson. That's why he lives in a

35:14

mansion. Meanwhile,

35:16

Nicholas continues his investigation, interviewing

35:19

other players and accomplices involved

35:21

in the scheme. At one point, he

35:24

talked to a coach who claimed he only

35:26

accepted bet money because he'd been working undercover

35:28

for a BBC journalist. The BBC

35:30

denied this and found no evidence

35:33

to substantiate his claims. The

35:35

Tennis Integrity Unit ended up giving him

35:37

a lifetime ban from tennis and finding

35:39

him a quarter of a million dollars.

35:42

In an effort to help prevent match fixing,

35:44

professional tennis announced it would introduce a minimum

35:46

wage for men and women in the top

35:48

250. It's

35:50

set to roll out this year. The players

35:52

will be guaranteed at least $75,000 a year, but it won't

35:56

affect players ranks even lower like the

35:58

vast majority of gory's accomplices.

36:01

To date, tennis gambling remains a

36:03

massive and growing $50 billion industry.

36:09

Sachi, I feel like this is the longest

36:11

you've ever thought about tennis. Am I right?

36:13

That's not true. Sometimes the men who play

36:15

tennis wear very small shorts, and then I

36:17

think about it for a good long time.

36:19

But this is probably the most I've ever

36:21

thought about a non-body topic

36:24

around tennis. Okay,

36:27

so tennis. Yeah,

36:30

you know what? You're right. Upon further reflection,

36:32

I guess my answer is I think about

36:34

being a pervert a lot, but I don't think about tennis

36:36

a lot. You're right. Okay. There's

36:38

something very impressive about this because

36:40

it really was like the tennis

36:42

didn't matter. He just needed a

36:45

vehicle for gambling, like creating a

36:47

gambling ring. Yeah, I think it's

36:49

an impressive feat to get competitive

36:51

people to agree to lose on

36:53

purpose. I think that takes a

36:55

lot of convincing. I hate

36:58

to give a man any credit, as

37:00

you know, but I gotta give him

37:02

some credit. Yeah, I think he was

37:04

really smart for preying on people who

37:06

knew they weren't ever going to get

37:08

a shot at being the top. They are

37:10

technically professionals. They're not making a lot of

37:13

money. They're doing something they love with not

37:15

a lot of payoff. Yeah, they're not going

37:17

to balk at a couple hundred bucks. It's

37:19

worth it, maybe. Yeah, it is. And also

37:21

it helped me learn something that I've been

37:23

wondering for so long, which is, you know

37:26

how there's like a tennis channel when you're

37:28

watching TV sometimes, like when someone has like

37:30

all the sports channels, there are tennis channels.

37:32

And I'm always like, who? Like what is

37:34

tennis happening all the time? And it turns

37:37

out it is. Yeah, it's happening right

37:39

now. Probably. Sarah, tennis is all

37:41

around us. At any moment, there

37:43

are 400 matches being played

37:45

and you don't even know about them. I

37:48

wonder if this story is going to

37:50

make you a better tennis player or

37:52

a better scam artist, because I know

37:54

the answer for me. It's

37:57

not going to make me a better anything. This

37:59

was too complicated. There was so

38:01

much work involved. There's so much

38:03

calculating. There's so many moving parts.

38:06

Honestly, that he kept it on

38:08

for that long was kind

38:11

of impressive. Yeah, I

38:13

think I could do it. I know I'm bad with

38:15

details and also I don't like doing hard work, but

38:17

I think I could do it. I think you could

38:19

do the charm thing. Like I think if he hires

38:21

you to be the person to go up to players

38:24

and be like, hey, you like gambling?

38:26

Yeah. I think you could convince someone

38:28

to throw a game. Truly I

38:30

do. Thank you. It also is

38:32

probably really hard, maybe as hard to

38:34

win as it is to strategically lose

38:36

in a believable way. Like I was

38:38

thinking about that a lot. If I

38:40

was playing a game and I had

38:42

to do poorly in a very

38:44

specific way, and I'd be like, oh,

38:47

like just so angry, but like not too

38:49

angry, at least win a little bit of

38:51

this or that. It's like, you know, I

38:53

also wonder where two players who are both

38:56

involved in different match fixing, kind of playing

38:58

the same game. You know what I mean?

39:00

That would be such a cute, like meet-tooth.

39:03

What if we turned us into a rom-com? We both

39:05

had to lose in the same way and, and

39:08

then they kiss over the net.

39:11

That's how we met. We're both banned from professional tennis for

39:13

the rest of our lives. And he owes $250,000 to this

39:15

like tennis authority that

39:18

you've never heard of, but we are in love.

39:21

I think that's a beautiful story and more

39:23

people should tell it Sarah. I

39:25

think we found a new way to meet guys. I'm

39:29

going to start going to tennis courts and ask men

39:31

in their tiny shirts that they like gambling. And then

39:33

I will trick them into falling in love with me.

39:36

That's what I learned today. Yeah, same. I think that's

39:38

really the only lesson here. Correct. Go

39:54

tell us about yourself by

39:57

completing a short survey at

39:59

wondery.com/survey. This

40:04

is GameSatScam. I'm

40:07

Sarah Hagee. And I'm Saachi Cole. If

40:09

you have a tip for us on a story

40:11

that you think we should cover, please email us

40:13

at scamplancers at wendry.com. We

40:15

use many sources in our research. A

40:17

few that were particularly helpful were a

40:20

Washington Post investigation by Kevin Seif, Goldseed

40:22

News and BBC's investigation by Heidi Blake

40:24

and John Templin, and Christopher Clary's reporting

40:26

for The New York Times. Josh Perry

40:29

wrote this episode, additional writing by us,

40:31

Saachi Cole and Sarah Hagee. Sarah Enne

40:33

is our story editor and producer, and

40:35

Eric Serum is our story editor.

40:37

Fact-checking by Meredith Sanger,

40:39

designed by James Morgan. Additional

40:42

audio assistance provided by Adrian Taffy.

40:44

Our music supervisor is Scott Velazquez

40:46

from Samsung. Our managing

40:48

producers are Desi Blaylock and Matt

40:50

Gant. Jean Cornillo and Stephanie Jens

40:52

are our development producers. Our associate

40:54

producers are Charlotte Miller and Lexi

40:57

Puri. Our producers are John Reed,

40:59

Jasmine Ward and Kaye. Our

41:01

senior producers are Ginny Bloom and Jen

41:03

Swan. Our executive producers are Jenny

41:06

Lower Beckman, Marshall Louis and Erin

41:08

O'Flaherty for Wondery. I

41:18

feel like I was blindsided because it's a competition

41:20

show. From

41:23

the producers of jury duty and The Bachelor.

41:25

We have scoured the earth for the 14

41:28

greatest reality contestants that

41:31

were available during our production window. Comes

41:34

a reality competition show about reality

41:36

competition shows. Nobody is there to

41:38

find out who is the actual

41:40

best at just being on a

41:42

reality show. I'm your host, Media

41:44

Daniel Foch. His winner go home.

41:46

Each episode, our contestants will face

41:48

new challenges. They will test their

41:50

strength and lack of life skills

41:53

for a chance to win $200 million. Cause

42:00

this is about to be ugly crying and lots of

42:02

fighting. Hey, sir, I have to phone myself.

42:04

Celebrating 25 years of reality

42:06

TV with your favorites. I hear diarrhea.

42:09

You cannot do the same. What in

42:11

gay hell have I got myself into?

42:13

The Goat, premiering on freebie in Prime

42:15

Video on May 9.