I "know" Chembro from the 2+2 poker forum. He PMed there and explained the situation.

1. He is banned for fraud. His points have been confiscated.

2. nyjets15 is his brother. They live 15 minutes apart. Their parents live in the same area.

3. nyjets15 is banned. His points have been confiscated.

4. Points have gone back and forth between chembro and nyjets15 for various reasons. When chembro was running hot he would sometimes ship his brother points. He loaned to him a couple of times. They bet each other betpoints on various occasions (for example, they disagreed on an NFL game and wagered betpoints - that is not a specific example, just something I made up so you understand what I mean when I say they bet with each other using betpoints).

5. They played poker at the same table sometimes. Chembro assured me there was no chip dumping, no collusion and no soft playing. He said he liked to take his brother's points through poker.

6. SBR will not say why he is banned, nor why his points have been confiscated.

7. Chembro has been corresponding with Lou, trying to iron out what he considers to be a misunderstanding. Lou's position is that he cannot (or will not) comment on why he was banned, that Chembro is welcome to come back as a pro if he signs up with a new name and creates a new sponsored sportsbook account through SBR. nyjets15 is not to come back under any circumstances. Chembro doesn't seem too hot on this idea because he feels his points have been unfairly stolen from him.

8. Chembro assures me that both he and his brother wager on sports and play poker. So the nyjets sponsored account(s) is not a "gnome" or a "beard".

9. Obviously we talked about what could have led to this banning (which is why I was asking him questons like #8). My guess is that it is because of one of the following:

a. At least one time Chembro was over nyjets' house and visited SBR from his smart phone. The phone was using nyjets' wifi.

b. They have both accessed SBR from their phones while at their parents' house.

I am guessing that is what triggered a "fraud" event for SBR, but SBR won't comment.

Chembro says he will write up an explanation and I have agreed to cut and paste it for him. Last time I talked to him, he wanted to work this out (of course, it is real money), wanted to come back and post at a site he really enjoys (might not like it so much right now ) and wants to be able to bet sports/play poker here. Again, he spent a lot of time here and really enjoyed it. I know he was depressed, then was getting angry (because SBR has a strict "no comment" policy, which is understandably frustrating when you are sending long emails with what you consider to be evidence in your own defense).

So that's it.

My own thoughts:

1. Chembro has always been straight up with me in the past (as far as I know), so I tend to believe him. His story does have the ring of truth. Personally I would have been a lot less cavalier about having my brother on the site and conducting transactions with him. SBR has snagged many a point motherload just at the point of purchase. And we don't know how or why they determine "fraud", what exactly is against the rules, etc. And we have no recourse, even if we are "pros" who have signed up for accounts with SBR as our affiliate.

So I do believe his story, which has the ring of truth, but I am a little surprised he wasn't more careful not to tempt SBR's "fraud police" into making this kind of decision.

2. It does not surprise me to see people pile on here. Chembro made a lot of enemies in this forum. There are a lot of scummy stiffs and degenerates here (think mexicanstallion types) and he was constantly berating and insulting them. This is the stiffs' time to shine! Their moment in the sun!

3. In the past I have always assumed that when SBR seized points that they could prove fraud. Now I don't believe that. I am a little scared to be honest. What if someday I am actually able to hold onto my points and attempt a cashout? Now I am wondering, why do we assume SBR has proof? If they have proof, let them show it. I believe they can do so without giving away too much info on how they investigate these types of things. SBR has very strict guidlines they expect books to follow when seizing customer money, cancelling bets, etc. It would be nice if they cared enough about us "pros" to at least give an indication of what the hell happened if they decide to label us a "fraud".

4. Chembro gave away an awful lot of points (for example, he was the biggest donor to the fund trying to repay mexicanstallion's many victims). So I don't think his point transactions with nyjets15 should be considered a smoking gun. In fact, I think SBR owes a general explanation here. What kind of points transaction are allowed between posters and what kind are prohibited?

5. Obviously I hope that this gets worked out, unless chembro actually is a fraud. Assuming his story is the truth, I hope he gets all of his posting priviledges back and also his points. Same for nyjets15. I guess they had about 16K points seized between them.

6. Anyone (like shaunovery) who said to wait for more info information before lynching this guy has props from me. Again, I admit that in the past I just assumed SBR had proof when they seized points/banned, but because I "know" chembro a little I am not so sure now. So if I didn't know chembro (never met him, just exchanged a bunch of PMs here and at 2+2) and hadn't heard his story, I am sure I would have made the same mistake I think people are making now... assuming that SBR nailed some thief with solid proof. Now I am not so sure that is how it works.

That's all I have for now. Gonna go watch the game.