Louisiana student arrested for illegal gambling and making threats

The Advocate reported that a 23-year-old was arrested on Tuesday, suspected of being an illegal bookmaker. In mid-January, Louisiana State Police’s Gaming Enforcement Division received a complaint about illegal gambling. During a police interview, the tipster mentioned meeting someone who went by Contente and acted as a bookie. In Portuguese, Contente means happy or pleased, but it's unclear why this alias was chosen. The complainant placed various bets through Contente, even sending payments via Venmo and CashApp. In December, the complainant asked to defer payment on a lost bet, and Contente agreed. However, by the end of the month, the complainant began receiving threatening messages and calls, which extended to his friends and family, with the threats coming from someone using an alias.

After the police got involved, an investigation began, and the primary suspect was identified. Investigators examined the 23-year-old’s Venmo account and discovered a large number of transactions. According to this investigation, from February 25, 2025, to April 15, 2026, the suspect’s bank statement revealed over $167,000 in debit transactions and more than $147,000 in credit transactions, mainly in the Baton Rouge area. The suspect’s CashApp transaction history also showed around 100 transactions, indicating illegal gambling. As a result, law enforcement arrested the 23-year-old LSU student last week. The man from Baton Rouge is now facing charges of unlawful telephone communications, unlawful betting, harassment, cyberstalking, gambling, and extortion. If convicted on all charges, he may face several years in prison, substantial fines, forfeiture of gambling proceeds, probation, and other restrictions imposed by the court. Among all the charges, extortion is the most serious, as it is considered a felony offense and can be punished with a lengthy prison term.