Internet gambling sites owners charged with fraud

[kilroy69 1,268]

(Reuters) - The owners of three of the largest Internet poker companies operating in the United States were accused on Friday of tricking regulators and banks into processing billions of dollars of illegal Internet gambling proceeds.

 

Eleven people including the owners of Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars were charged with violating U.S. anti-Internet gambling laws, according to charges filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

 

The charges are part of a crackdown on Internet gambling in the United States, where it has been illegal since 2006.

 

In March, Wynn Resorts Ltd said that it had entered into a partnership with PokerStars, and that they would work for passage of U.S. legislation that would define illegal Internet gambling.

[DanXIII 8]

Holy crap...this is for real.

 

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/

[RLLD 4,275]

The government is just a bunch of assh0les, wanting their cut of the action, just like organized crime.....

[DanXIII 8]

The government could have had that. Thanks to Bush and the idiots in Congress in 2006 they made it expressly illegal to process payments, effectively criminalizing Internet poker, or at least transferring funds for that purpose.

 

Good job guys!

 

[Mungwater 601]

Strumey is about to get buddies

[DanXIII 8]

Not sure if true but

 

Meet The Boy Genius Who Just Took Down The Online Poker Industry

 

The internet is still coming to grips with the huge online gambling bust that just took down the U.S.'s three biggest online poker sites. But Australia's Courier-Mail already has the scoop on the one man who may have single-handedly built the online industry ... then handed it to the U.S. government on a platter.

 

According to this story, Daniel Tzvetkoff was a young Australian entrepreneur who set up the payment processing schemes used by the biggest poker sites to handle their (mostly illegal) transactions.

 

He made Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars millions of dollars — and making as much $150,000 a day for himself — but then got even more greedy and started taking them for himself. They sued him, demanding more than $100 million of their own money back.

 

Then last April, Tzvetkoff was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with the same crimes those sites founders were charged with today: money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud. As an Australian citizen with a lot of wealth, he was considered a flight risk and denied bail.

 

Then after a "secret" meeting with prosecutors, he was suddenly out on bail. And now, his former colleagues are the ones facing serious jail time.

 

Daniel Tzvetkoff knows the operations of these poker site inside and out. He's the one man positioned to give these companies to the U.S. Attorneys on a silver platter. And it looks like that's exactly what he did, cooperating with the authorities to avoid his own lengthy jail sentence.

 

All the major gambling prosecutions in the U.S., since Tzvetkoff's arrest have been run out of the office of Arlo Devlin-Brown, the Manhattan Asst. U.S. Attorney, who is Tzvetkoff's "handler."

 

According to a source, "He knows how to reverse-engineer transactions to determine its original source," making him very valuable to investigators.

 

And the biggest irony of all? It's been rumored that the only reason the FBI got their hands on him is because Full Tilt or Poker Stars (the companies he used to work for and stole from) tipped off the FBI that he was going to be traveling to the United States

 

They ratted him out ... and he turned the tables. No honor among thieves.

 

And as the Courier Mail put it, if this were still the old days, he'd buried in the Las Vegas desert right now.

 

 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/boy-genius-online-poker-scandal-2011-4#ixzz1JcfG14mZ

 

 

[RLLD 4,275]

Wow....if that is true, then the guys running these sites are among the dumbest people on the planet......

[cbfalcon 827]

I get the feeling Party Poker is the big winner eventually. Poker will be legalized one day and when it is, Party Poker will get preferential treatment because they seemingly did everything by the book, including getting out of the US market back in 2006 when all this BS started.

 

I don't play online anymore, simply because I didn't want to deal with the stress of depositing and withdrawing money through complicated back channels. And I sure as hell didn't want my money inaccessible to me. But still, it all pissses me off. It's very un-American.

[IronToe Nedney 0]

I just grabbed all my cash off of Full Tilt. No problems to do that.

 

I'm playing at Pokerstars as we speak.

 

[nikki2200 4]

I don't understand.

[IronToe Nedney 0]

I don't understand.

 

 

No more Americans on Pokerstars.

 

###### sucks. No more Thursday night games I guess.

[DankNuggs 305]

bah, my thread is old newz. Awk diliebrah!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nikki2200 4]

No more Americans on Pokerstars.

 

###### sucks. No more Thursday night games I guess.

 

But I just logged into Pokerstars.

 

That is why I'm confused.

[DankNuggs 305]

But I just logged into Pokerstars.

 

That is why I'm confused.

steal some chips from the dealer during the confusion then run...

[nikki2200 4]

steal some chips from the dealer during the confusion then run...

 

Am I going to be able to get my money back? I'm really confused. I'm also have retarded today so things aren't processing properly.

[IronToe Nedney 0]

Am I going to be able to get my money back? I'm really confused. I'm also have retarded today so things aren't processing properly.

 

Just today?

 

They are slowly but surely getting to everyone, most people that try to play now get a "due to u.s anti gambling laws you are not able to play on this site"

[nikki2200 4]

Just today?

 

They are slowly but surely getting to everyone, most people that try to play now get a "due to u.s anti gambling laws you are not able to play on this site"

 

But what happens to all our money? Man this really does blow.

[Giants Fan 85]

You should leave at least $1 in your accounts for the upcoming class action suit.

[nikki2200 4]

You should leave at least $1 in your accounts for the upcoming class action suit.

 

I just took it all out. What class action suit?

[drobeski 3,061]

Am I going to be able to get my money back? I'm really confused. I'm also have retarded today so things aren't processing properly.

Doesnt look it, I got 60 bucks in there wont let me touch or play

[nikki2200 4]

Doesnt look it, I got 60 bucks in there wont let me touch or play

 

I must have gotten in before they got to my account because I was able to cash out.

 

They can't take everyone's money though. That's ridiculous.

 

Also is this a joke and I am falling for it and you people are messing with me?

[jerryskids 7,083]

I'm also have retarded today so things aren't processing properly.

 

Thanks for the new sig.

[nikki2200 4]

Thanks for the new sig.

 

[Giants Fan 85]

I just took it all out. What class action suit?

 

I'm sure there will be some kind of a lawsuit to try and reclaim whatever funds got stuck in their accounts.

[cbfalcon 827]

I'm sure there will be some kind of a lawsuit to try and reclaim whatever funds got stuck in their accounts.

 

And your recommendation is to leave at least $1 on there, then try to reclaim that cash through a lawsuit, as oppose to just getting it now without being involved in a lawsuit?

[jerryskids 7,083]

And your recommendation is to leave at least $1 on there, then try to reclaim that cash through a lawsuit, as oppose to just getting it now without being involved in a lawsuit?

 

I thought about saying something like this, then I remembered he is an idiot.

[Giants Fan 85]

Uh .... it's A DOLLAR! And what if there are huge punitive damages and everyone who had an account with at least a dollar in it gets $500?

[LOD01 199]

I get the feeling Party Poker is the big winner eventually. Poker will be legalized one day and when it is, Party Poker will get preferential treatment because they seemingly did everything by the book, including getting out of the US market back in 2006 when all this BS started.

 

I don't play online anymore, simply because I didn't want to deal with the stress of depositing and withdrawing money through complicated back channels. And I sure as hell didn't want my money inaccessible to me. But still, it all pissses me off. It's very un-American.

 

Let's not forget Pacific poker too. The place where you just sign up for a sit and go, then wait for everyone to lose to the maniac, then cash in.

[heavy-set 39]

why not legalize it and pay Obama the rake?

[LOD01 199]

Absolute Poker still open for US business. Suck my nutsack US Govt.

[cbfalcon 827]

Do we blame Republicans or Democrats for this? Where are Recliner Pilot and MDC when a political issue comes up that actually matters?

[IGotWorms 4,063]

I'm sure there will be some kind of a lawsuit to try and reclaim whatever funds got stuck in their accounts.

 

It's kind of hard to bring suit against someone for engaging in what you knew was illegal activity.

[Giants Fan 85]

It's also pretty hard for the gubmint to keep all that money. Particularly when they are also confiscating the funds of people outside the U.S. There is gonna be a lot of people wanting their money back.

[CantTouchThis 23]

I know people with thousands tied up with online. Biggest reason why I never seriously played online, you have to have some sort of medium or middle man to withdraw. People who play seriously act like it's not a big deal, but if I transfer 5k into someone's account, how am I sure that they will pay? It's not like you can sue them...and vise versa. If you have people you can really trust, then yeah sure, but that is really rare especially in poker/online gaming.

 

Also, yeah I have 20 bucks in there. I am going to leave it in there...mainly because it's just 20 bucks.

[Giants Fan 85]

I have less than $5 in Stars and FTP .... so I am in favor of just an even distribution of funds to the victims.

 

[heavy-set 39]

I have less than $5 in Stars and FTP .... so I am in favor of just an even distribution of funds to the victims.

 

Donkeys cant be part of the lawsuit

[WhiteWonder 2,925]

I have less than $5 in Stars and FTP .... so I am in favor of just an even distribution of funds to the victims.

 

What victims? U knew it was illegal

[heavy-set 39]

What victims? U knew it was illegal

he cant get his money out. thats how he a victim.

 

he wants even distribution due to his lack of funds

[DanXIII 8]

Do we blame Republicans or Democrats for this? Where are Recliner Pilot and MDC when a political issue comes up that actually matters?

 

I blame both: Republicans for deceitfully tacking the UIGEA onto the Safe Ports bill and ramming it through Congress back in 06, and Obama's DoJ for enforcing this stupid shite. And don't anyone give me that "but they're just enforcing the laws on the books" garbage or I will hit you over the head with a bag of California medical marijuana.

 

[DanXIII 8]

What victims? U knew it was illegal

 

Link to it being illegal?

 

ETA: Don't waste time googling for a link, it's not illegal (except in states that expressly prohibit it).