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WBKFF promoter completes federal prison sentence; lawsuits, Wyoming fraud case loom

Tomasz Stankiewicz, the promoter of a notorious one-off bare-knuckle fight promotion, was released from federal prison on Wednesday in Philipsburgh, Pa., 18 months after he left fighters, vendors, and industry vets holding the bag.

Stankiewicz, 41, served a one-year sentence for a mortgage fraud scheme the government said caused $2.4 million in losses to banks in Florida, Texas, Illinois and Missouri. He has been ordered to pay back that amount less a $50,000 deposit he put up with a plea agreement that included serving as a cooperating witness in another mortgage fraud case.

The World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation, which Stankiewicz started up with $100,000 two months after striking a deal with the government, was one of the assets investigated after he went to prison in May 2019.