Government shuts down online Poker in U.S.

Kaneman · 04-16-2011, 09:48 AM

Thank God the Government is going after the REAL crooks in America, and not those nice banker guys that are just trying to better society.

Online Poker's Big Three Indicted

On Friday, an indictment against the founders of online poker's "big three" was unsealed by federal authorities. Accoridng to MarketWatch.com, the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were indicted on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. There were also restraining orders issued against over 75 bank accounts used by the online poker companies and their payment processors, as well as five Internet domain names.

The United States Department of Justice released a PDF of the indictment, and in it, 11 defendants are named: Isai Scheinberg, Raymond Bitar, Scott Tom, Brent Beckley, Nelson Burtnick, Paul Tate, Ryan Lang, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie, and John Campos.

In the indictment, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits. Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits."

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said, "These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck. They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost."

At least $3 billion in civil money laundering penalties from both the poker companies and defendants is being sought after. According to the indictment, Campos and Elie were arrested Friday morning in Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. Franzen is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on April 19, 2011. Those who are not in the United States, Scheinberg, Bitar, Burtnick, Tate, Tom, Beckley, Rubin, and Lang, have not been arrested, but the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York is working with foreign law enforcement agencies and Interpol to arrest the defendants.

11:55 a.m. PDT: PokerNews has attempted to contact all three online poker sites, and thus far, only UB/AP has replied, and has no comment at this time.

12:26 p.m. PDT: PokerStars has blocked U.S. players from real money games.

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/0...cted-10218.htm

OneSickPsycho · 04-16-2011, 09:50 AM

Yep, real crooks. Government actually enforcing laws, excellent.

Kaneman · 04-16-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Yep, real crooks. Government actually enforcing laws, excellent.

Apoc · 04-16-2011, 10:36 AM

what an assfuck backwards country you guys live in.

Captain Morgan · 04-16-2011, 10:51 AM

Glad I stopped playing online over a year ago.

goof2 · 04-16-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneman

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said, "These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck. They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost."

She just needs to put on some sunglasses and then

anthonyk · 04-16-2011, 11:32 AM

God, I hate press releases with not-so-witty puns.

OneSickPsycho · 04-16-2011, 12:35 PM

Yep, 100% serious.

The law is the law... They are doing their job and without scandal it seems.

If you want to debate whether or not the law should be this way, that's another story, but I saw your comment as going down a "they should be looking for real criminals" sort of path. And that line of thinking is juvenile...

Trip · 04-16-2011, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaneman

12:26 p.m. PDT: PokerStars has blocked U.S. players from real money games.

So all you need is a overseas bank account and a proxy ip.

tallywacker · 04-16-2011, 12:49 PM

Organized crime has been using it to launder large sums of money around the world. Thank goodness it's stopped here.

04-16-2011, 09:48 AM	#1
Kaneman AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Odessa, TX Moto: 2000 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird Posts: 4,931	Government shuts down online Poker in U.S. Thank God the Government is going after the REAL crooks in America, and not those nice banker guys that are just trying to better society. Online Poker's Big Three Indicted On Friday, an indictment against the founders of online poker's "big three" was unsealed by federal authorities. Accoridng to MarketWatch.com, the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were indicted on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. There were also restraining orders issued against over 75 bank accounts used by the online poker companies and their payment processors, as well as five Internet domain names. The United States Department of Justice released a PDF of the indictment, and in it, 11 defendants are named: Isai Scheinberg, Raymond Bitar, Scott Tom, Brent Beckley, Nelson Burtnick, Paul Tate, Ryan Lang, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie, and John Campos. In the indictment, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits. Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits." FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said, "These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck. They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost." At least $3 billion in civil money laundering penalties from both the poker companies and defendants is being sought after. According to the indictment, Campos and Elie were arrested Friday morning in Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. Franzen is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on April 19, 2011. Those who are not in the United States, Scheinberg, Bitar, Burtnick, Tate, Tom, Beckley, Rubin, and Lang, have not been arrested, but the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York is working with foreign law enforcement agencies and Interpol to arrest the defendants. 11:55 a.m. PDT: PokerNews has attempted to contact all three online poker sites, and thus far, only UB/AP has replied, and has no comment at this time. 12:26 p.m. PDT: PokerStars has blocked U.S. players from real money games. http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/0...cted-10218.htm __________________ 1982 Honda XR80 - blown motor, 1993 Kawasaki ZX6D - sold, 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200S - sold, 1984 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R - blown motor, 2007 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom - totalled, 2003 Yamaha FZ1 - sold, 1994 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Honda CBR600F4i - sold, 1998 Suzuki DR350 - stolen, 1989 Honda Super Magna - sold, 2007 Yamaha Stratoliner, 2000 Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

04-16-2011, 10:36 AM	#4
Apoc For Science. You Monster. Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Canada Moto: '08 HD FLSTSB Posts: 3,546	what an assfuck backwards country you guys live in. __________________ Android OS causes gay. Dont let your child use Android (unless she's a hot female). And dont let your babies grow up to be cowboys, either.

04-16-2011, 12:49 PM	#10
tallywacker Virtual Machine Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: PA Moto: 2010 Ducati Hypermotard Posts: 1,698	Organized crime has been using it to launder large sums of money around the world. Thank goodness it's stopped here. __________________

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04-16-2011, 09:50 AM	#2
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	Yep, real crooks. Government actually enforcing laws, excellent.

04-16-2011, 10:51 AM	#5
Captain Morgan Let's do another U-turn Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Indiana Moto: 2009 V-Strom Posts: 3,816	Glad I stopped playing online over a year ago.

04-16-2011, 11:32 AM	#7
anthonyk WERA White Plate Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Austin, TX Moto: '01 Aprilia Falco Posts: 1,041	God, I hate press releases with not-so-witty puns.

04-16-2011, 12:35 PM	#8
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	Yep, 100% serious. The law is the law... They are doing their job and without scandal it seems. If you want to debate whether or not the law should be this way, that's another story, but I saw your comment as going down a "they should be looking for real criminals" sort of path. And that line of thinking is juvenile...