Cincinnati man sentenced for $23 million theft from California company that partly covered gambling debt

From 2015 to 2019, the former Santa Monica resident was controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul Inc., which represents influencers on Instagram and YouTube, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

Blieden, who had entered and won professional poker tournaments, was accused of wiring company money to his personal bank account and using it to pay for expenses that included a gambling debt and to buy cryptocurrency, authorities said.

He pleaded guilty in 2019 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.