Miami Prison Guard Charged With Placing Bets For Inmates
Jesse M. Cox Published 13/10/2026
A Miami-Dade prison guard has been charged by the FBI after admitting that he was using his Florida online sports betting account to place wagers for inmates. Renel Troutman admitted to placing thousands of dollars in sports bets for prison inmates through his legal Hard Rock Bet online sports betting account. This is an illegal gambling enterprise under Florida gaming law.
It is illegal for someone to place bets for someone else through their own online sports betting account. According to charges laid by the FBI, Troutman was part of a criminal enterprise that enabled inmates to place sports bets.
A Miami prison officer became an impromptu bookie for convicted criminals
Troutman is facing several federal charges. These include conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute. He's also facing Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right, conspiracy, and racketeering promotion.
He could be looking at decades in prison if he's convicted.
According to the FBI complaint filed against Troutman, the Miami-Dade prison officer worked with an unnamed outside organizer to place numerous sports bets for inmates. He placed all the bets through his legal sports betting account with Hard Rock Bet. The online gambling company operates all of the online sports betting in Florida for the Seminole Tribe.
Authorities indicated that Troutman participated in the organization’s “gambling and related financial operation involving incarcerated bettors.” Evidence showed that Troutman communicated with the organizer “concerning wagers, balances, payments, and collection activity.”
According to Local 10 News reporting, Troutman “continued placing and discussing new wagers, including Hard Rock Bet wagers, sports selections, wager amounts, live betting, profit targets, and recurring wagering profits.” This was all according to the complaint.
An inmate turned in the prison guard
The FBI investigators admitted that it was an inmate incarcerated in the prison who told them about Troutman's involvement in the scheme. According to the complaint, the FBI admitted to learning about the organizer “through an inmate approximately a year and a half earlier and acknowledged using the Hard Rock Bet gambling platform.”
That led to authorities obtaining a search warrant for Troutman’s home. After completing the search, they took him into custody.
They said Troutman admitted to and “acknowledged his operational role in the Enterprise’s gambling activity.”
According to the investigating agents, Troutman “initially attempted to limit his explanation to ‘the bookie." Ultimately, he explained, ‘You can’t put a slip in or anything, and you can’t bet without me,’” going on to admit that the organizer’s “Hard Rock account was unusable and that (he) could not wager without (Troutman), including when an inmate associate directed (Troutman) to have (the organizer) ‘put a ticket in.’”
Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation has fired Troutman
There are also allegations that the criminal enterprise was smuggling drugs into the prison and was looking into smuggling guns inside the prison walls. Troutman has only admitted to involvement in the betting.
Amidst the ongoing investigation, Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation (MDCR) revealed that Troutman is no longer employed as a prison officer.
An MDCR spokesperson confirmed Troutman’s arrest and his dismissal via a statement.
“[Troutman] has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation,” the statement read.
“MDCR takes matters involving employee conduct very seriously and remains committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining the public’s trust. The matter is currently under active investigation by the FBI and administrative review by MDCR.
"To protect the integrity of the investigation, MDCR is unable to provide additional details at this time.”"
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