Pro Baseball Player Ran a $32 Million Ponzi Scheme to Feed His Gambling Addiction

Nothing’s Off the Table with Louis Ruggiero · Jul 16, 2026 · 55m

Sam Favata was a professional baseball player with a promising career — until a devastating injury changed everything. What followed was a gambling addiction so severe it spiraled into a $32 million Ponzi scheme, more than $10 million in gambling debts, and 33 months in federal prison. In this episode of Nothing's Off The Table, Sam opens up about his rise through pro baseball, the beaning injury that derailed his career, how sports betting with an infamous bookie escalated from a hobby to a compulsion, and how he used his own mortgage company to fund his addiction — defrauding over 200…