Peter Jepsen Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Computer-Based Theft

Poker professional Peter Jepsen has been convicted of computer-based theft related to cheating at online poker. The Danish high stakes grinder was found guilty last week at the end of a five year long trial and received a four year sentence with six months deducted for the overly long investigation.

Busted

Peter Jepsen was accused of a six year long cheating spree that involved installing trojan horse viruses onto other player’s computers. It was thought that he recruited partners who would install the malware onto laptops in hotel rooms while playing at high-profile events such as the EPT.

In fact, Jason Koon, a true elite player, reported an identical story last week on a podcast. Whilst playing at the EPT Deauville he returned to his room to discover that his computer was no longer showing the password screen. It was later discovered that malware had been installed and he later lost tens of thousands of dollars playing heads-up sit & go’s.

From 2008 to 2014 Jepsen ran his scam where the trojan would give him continuous access to his opponent’s holecards. Eventually, a complaint was filed by suspicious players with the Danish authorities and an investigation began.

Three witnesses, two men and a woman, testified that they were involved in the installation of the virus onto the computers which was the final nail in the coffin for Jepsen’s scam.

Fall From Grace

Jepsen is a former sponsored player who wore the patch for Betfair back in the day. Known by his screen name ‘Zupp’ he was one of the most feared cash game players around. 

In 2008 in a matchup against Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan he broke the record for the biggest pot in online history - $499k. This has been beaten many times since, but you can get a hint of just where Jepsen stood in the game.

He also had some brief success in live tournaments, winning the 2007 EPT Warsaw for $415k.

What Next?

The Copenhagen City Court imposed a €3.5 million fine on top of the four year custodial sentence. €107,000 of this will be returned to one of the aggrieved parties, but it is still unknown what will happen to the remainder.

It isn’t even known if Jepsen has the capital to pay this fine. There could be a chance that the sentence will be increased if this is the case.