A celebrity accountant in Los Angeles whose firm boasted of A-list clients including Conor McGregor, Chris Hemsworth and Channing Tatum has pleaded guilty in connection with an illegal gambling ring.
William “Eric” Fulton, the founder and managing partner of Fulton Management, pleaded guilty last week to one count of lying to federal agents about his role in laundering illicit proceeds from an illegal gambling operation.
The case came as part of a widening federal probe into the illicit sports betting ring masterminded by former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix, who according to prosecutors enlisted ex-MLB stars as ‘agents’ taking wagers across the country.
Last year, former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig pleaded not guilty to a charge of lying to federal agents investigating Nix’s illegal gambling operation. Puig is due to face trial in January.
Earlier this week, the Nevada Current cited a source as saying that federal investigators had expanded the probe to examine possible ties between Nix’s ring and employees at Las Vegas hotels and casinos, including the MGM Grand.
William Eric Fulton, the founder and managing partner of celebrity accounting firm Fulton Management, pleaded guilty last week to one count of lying to federal agents about his role in an illegal gambling operation
In the latest case, prosecutors say Fulton, 59, and his Encino-based company provided extensive bookkeeping and accounting services to Nix’s gambling ring, and that Fulton used the illicit service to place sports bets on a client of his own firm.
The court filings allege that on November 12, 2016 Fulton received an account on Nix’s offshore Sand Island Sports gambling site, and on that same date ‘placed 14 bets, including three bets on a professional match of a client of The Company [Fulton Management]’.
The charging document does not name the client. The date of the bets is the same date as UFC 205, in which McGregor defeated then-champion Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden in the first-ever UFC bout in New York City.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, a spokeswoman for McGregor said that he had never been a client of Fulton, and that any relationship with Fulton Management was through a different partner.
‘Eric Fulton does not now, nor ever has represented Conor McGregor,’ the spokeswoman said. ‘He is represented by a different partner at the firm, who is separate and apart from this matter.’
McGregor in 2021 attended the wedding of Fulton Management partner Matthew Gilbert-Hammerling, who has since changed his name to Matthew Gilbert-Aranoff, and posted an Instagram photo with the groom calling him a ‘good friend and trusted advisor.’
Neither Gilbert-Aranoff nor McGregor have been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Nix’s gambling ring, and charging documents do not name any Fulton Management clients in connection with the scheme.
The US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined to comment on Fulton’s 2016 bets or reports that its probe into the Nix ring has expanded to Las Vegas.
Fulton’s attorney and Gilbert-Aranoff did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The MGM Grand did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Whatever bets Fulton placed in November 2016, the wagers became key to the case after he told Homeland Security Investigations and IRS agents that he had never placed a bet online with Nix or Sand Island Sports, according to prosecutors.
And, despite insisting that he believed Nix simply offered concierge or consulting services, Fulton also referred at least one of his company’s clients to Nix for the purposes of illegal gambling, prosecutors said.
Conor McGregor of Ireland celebrates after defeating Eddie Alvarez in their UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 205 event on November 12, 2016 in New York City
McGregor (right) in 2021 attended the wedding of Fulton Management partner Matthew Gilbert-Hammerling (second from left). The MMA fighter’s rep says he was never represented by Eric Fulton, only by a different partner at the firm
‘During an October 2021 interview with federal law enforcement about the Nix gambling business, Fulton falsely denied all knowledge of Nix’s involvement in sports gambling,’ the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a July 25 statement.
The statement added that Fulton ‘falsely claimed to have had no knowledge that Nix was a bookmaker until learning law enforcement had searched Nix’s home in February 2020, and repeatedly made the false assertion that he had never placed a bet with Nix.’
Fulton admitted in his plea agreement that he and his company provided bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation services for Nix, who pleaded guilty in the scheme last year and awaits sentencing.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig pleaded not guilty to a charge of lying to federal agents investigating Nix’s illegal gambling operation. Puig is due to face trial in January
Between 2010 and 2020, Fulton charged Nix approximately $336,645 in professional fees for his financial services, according to court filings.
Fulton transferred money between accounts, issued checks and wires to Nix’s gambling clients who won large bets, and helped Nix obtain bank loans to facilitate the gambling business, according to the plea agreement.
Fulton also admitted that on three separate occasions he provided no-interest personal loans to Nix totaling $1.25 million, allowing the gambling kingpin to pay out winning bets when he needed rapid access to funds.
A sentencing hearing for Fulton has been scheduled for November 29, and he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Nix, a former pitcher for Oakland Athletics farm teams, was charged last year with running a big-league illegal sports betting operation in California that used other former pro athletes to take bets.
Although sports betting is now legal in at least 30 states, it remains banned in California. Illegal bookmakers also sometimes offer services that are banned at legitimate sportsbooks, such as extending credit to customers who are in the hole.
Nix, 45, launched an illicit sports bookmaking business some 20 years ago in Los Angeles after his six-year minor league career ended in 2001, prosecutors said in charging documents.
His client list was created from contacts he had made in the sports world and included current and former pro athletes. The agents he hired helped expand that clientele.
Earlier this week, the Nevada Current cited a source as saying that federal investigators had expanded the probe to examine possible ties between Nix’s ring and employees at Las Vegas hotels and casinos (file photo)
Court filings show a professional football player paid Nix $245,000 for gambling losses in 2016. An MLB coach paid $4,000 in losses that same year. It was not disclosed if either bet on their own games, or their own sports.
MLB prohibits players from betting on baseball or gambling illegally on sports. They can bet on other sports if it’s legal. The National Football League policy bars all personnel from betting on football games.
Nix pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiring to run an illegal gambling operation and failing to report $1.4 million in income in 2017 and 2018.
He has agreed to pay back taxes and interest of $1.25 million and forfeit $1.3 million seized from bank accounts and faces up to eight years in prison.
However, Nix’s sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for last July, has repeatedly been delayed, and is currently scheduled for March 6, 2024.
Since he entered a plea, many documents related to his case have been filed under seal, which among other things could mean they pertain to an ongoing investigation.