A previous Comcast executive from Pennsylvania has received a 48-month prison sentence for embezzling $650K from at least 12 investors in his fraudulent sports betting fund, including some who were friends. 

Elijah “Eli” Goshert was the executive director of the supply chain at Comcast Business, as stated on his LinkedIn profile, where he portrays himself as having “a history of fostering relationships and achieving results.” 

He clearly showed a talent for the first, but not as much for the second. Goshert admitted guilt in a federal court in Missouri in October 2024 to three charges of wire fraud related to his sports betting operation, Magellan Sports Fund. Court documents reveal that he enchanted investors into becoming part of the syndicate with no outcomes at all. 

‘Advanced Algorithm’ 

Goshert asserted that he had created an "advanced computer algorithm" that significantly lowered the risks linked to sports betting. The indictment claims this was a misrepresentation, and it remains uncertain from court records if any wagers were made at all.

"Defendant took the financial investments provided to him by Magellan investors and spent the vast majority of those funds on his own personal expenses, including on Disney vacations, private school tuition, and mortgage payments for his home,” according to prosecutors.

Goshert frequently dispatched "deceptive and fraudulent emails" to his targets, asserting that he had utilized their financial investments to make non-existent sports wagers. These comprised fabricated “investor performance” reports that reflected victims' equally imaginary “significant gains.” 

A victim stated in a letter to the court that he paid $20K in legal fees in an effort to recover his $60K investment. Another stated that he suffered significant emotional and psychological harm due to the betrayal of trust by Goshert, whom he had regarded as a close friend. 

‘Abhorrent’ Scam 

The victim was continuously misled regarding the reasons for his inability to access his $50K investment. Goshert even informed his friend that he was unable to release the money since he had sold the betting fund to a private equity company. 

Assistant US Attorney Derek Wiseman informed the court that Goshert’s offense was “a yearslong complex scheme” instead of a “single instance of poor judgment.” 

“Scamming people who trust you is especially loathsome,” said Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson of the FBI St. Louis Division in a statement after sentencing. “Unfortunately, the way Elijah Goshert targeted his victims is not unique. When white-collar criminals exploit the trust that already exists within their social circles, it’s known as affinity fraud.”