http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pres...dictmentpr.pdf
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.
Now is this a strke against online poker playing or against people whom circumvented the law by tricking and bribing banks to allow them to process payments and offer these services in the first place? Just because something is popular with the public does not give the right for companies to flout banking lawas anywhere in the world I am aware of. You?
I dont get where Barney Frank comes from when he says this crackdown is a waste of time. Whats a waste of time, Barney? You did read this simply worded complaint didn't you?
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.
Greed does kill folks. And you fed that greed by sending your money to these sites thinking the whole time the DOJ would do nothing about it. You were lulled to sleep that sports would be shut down and poker would get through unscathed in the end and all would win the day. FOOLS.
United States Citizens ARE NOT FREE TO FLOUT GAMBLING LAWS THEY DONT LIKE simply because they want to gamble on line at will and pontentialy make a profit. Get it through your heads. We live in a responsible international gaming world now and Its going to stay that way!!!
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."
Thats the death nell right there. Willing and active searching out of weak banks to continue an illegal criminal enterprise at the expense of the american people will not be tolerated.
On October 13, 2006, the United States enacted the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ("UIGEA"), making it a
federal crime for gambling businesses to "knowingly accept" most
forms of payment "in connection with the participation of another
person in unlawful Internet gambling." Despite the passage of
UIGEA, the Poker Companies, located offshore, continued operating
in the United States. In a press release dated October 16, 2006,
Absolute Poker announced that the company would continue its U.S.
operations because "the U.S. Congress has no control over" the
company’s payment transactions.
They lined themselves up right from the start. How arrogant is that statement?
Because U.S. banks and credit card issuers were largely
unwilling to process their payments, the Poker Companies
allegedly used fraudulent methods to circumvent federal law and
trick these institutions into processing payments on their
behalf. For example, defendants ISAI SCHEINBERG and PAUL TATE of
PokerStars, RAYMOND BITAR and NELSON BURTNICK of Full Tilt Poker,
and SCOTT TOM and BRENT BECKLEY of Absolute Poker, arranged for
the money received from U.S. gamblers to be disguised as payments
to hundreds of non-existent online merchants purporting to sell
merchandise such as jewelry and golf balls. Of the billions of
dollars in payment transactions that the Poker Companies tricked
U.S. banks into processing, approximately one-third or more of
the funds went directly to the Poker Companies as revenue through
the "rake" charged to players on almost every poker hand played
online.
Thats translates into collecting profits throgh the back door up front and not paying any taxes on it. Worse it looks like the monies dumped into the same primary accounts making it easy to know not just how much,but how much was disperesed to the stable of stars and advertisers. I will presume in the future we will start hearing some real numbers as the international tax man raises his head and says wait a minute, whats going on here? Worse, many we have not heard about were on the take to and are either on the run also or will be running soon. Its going to get ugly. Brace yourselves.
As alleged in the Indictment, to accomplish their
fraud, the Poker Companies worked with an array of highly
compensated "payment processors" – including defendants RYAN
LANG, IRA RUBIN, BRADLEY FRANZEN, and CHAD ELIE – who obtained
-2accounts at U. S. banks for the Poker Companies. The payment
processors lied to banks about the nature of the financial
transactions they were processing, and covered up those lies, by,
among other things, creating phony corporations and websites to
disguise payments to the Poker Companies. For example, a
PokerStars document from May 2009 acknowledged that they received
money from U.S. gamblers through company names that "strongly
imply the transaction has nothing to do with PokerStars," and
that PokerStars used whatever company names "the processor can
get approved by the bank.
WHY IS THIS OK FOR THESE PEOPLE TO DO THIS JUST SO YOU CAN CAUSUALLY GAMBLE ONLINE?? I dont get it. You are a VICTIM HOW EXACTLY? They did it for you, you know. NOW YOU WANT TO BLAME THE DOJ FOR DOING THIER JOB??? GTFO.
Exactly how is this suppressing your freedom and rights. WHAT ABOUT THE NORMAL PEOPLE in the world whom dont gamble period, but, have accounts at these weak finacial places. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE OF THE BANKS GO UNDER BECAUSE THE POKER MONEY IS GONE. Did you think about that at all?? Or is it all about you as always and you just dont care??
By late 2009, after U.S. banks and financial
institutions detected and shut down multiple fraudulent bank
accounts used by the Poker Companies, SCHEINBERG and BITAR
developed a new processing strategy that would not involve lying
to banks. PokerStars, FullTilt Poker, and their payment
processors persuaded the principals of a few small, local banks
facing financial difficulties to engage in such processing in
return for multi-million dollar investments in the banks. For
example, in September 2009, ELIE and others approached defendant
JOHN CAMPOS, the Vice Chairman of the Board and part-owner of
SunFirst Bank, a small, private bank based in Saint George, Utah,
about processing Internet poker transactions. While expressing
"trepidations," CAMPOS allegedly agreed to process gambling
transactions in return for a $10 million investment in SunFirst
by ELIE and an associate, which would give them a more than 30%
ownership stake in the bank. CAMPOS also requested and received
a $20,000 "bonus" for his assistance. In an e-mail, one of
ELIE’s associates boasted that they had "purchased" SunFirst and
that they "were looking to purchase" "a grand total of 3 or 4
banks" to process payments.
You created a monster. Accept your role and responsiblity in this matter and move on with your lives. YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM. YOU VICTIMIZED YOURSELVES.
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.
Now is this a strke against online poker playing or against people whom circumvented the law by tricking and bribing banks to allow them to process payments and offer these services in the first place? Just because something is popular with the public does not give the right for companies to flout banking lawas anywhere in the world I am aware of. You?
I dont get where Barney Frank comes from when he says this crackdown is a waste of time. Whats a waste of time, Barney? You did read this simply worded complaint didn't you?
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.
Greed does kill folks. And you fed that greed by sending your money to these sites thinking the whole time the DOJ would do nothing about it. You were lulled to sleep that sports would be shut down and poker would get through unscathed in the end and all would win the day. FOOLS.
United States Citizens ARE NOT FREE TO FLOUT GAMBLING LAWS THEY DONT LIKE simply because they want to gamble on line at will and pontentialy make a profit. Get it through your heads. We live in a responsible international gaming world now and Its going to stay that way!!!
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."
Thats the death nell right there. Willing and active searching out of weak banks to continue an illegal criminal enterprise at the expense of the american people will not be tolerated.
On October 13, 2006, the United States enacted the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ("UIGEA"), making it a
federal crime for gambling businesses to "knowingly accept" most
forms of payment "in connection with the participation of another
person in unlawful Internet gambling." Despite the passage of
UIGEA, the Poker Companies, located offshore, continued operating
in the United States. In a press release dated October 16, 2006,
Absolute Poker announced that the company would continue its U.S.
operations because "the U.S. Congress has no control over" the
company’s payment transactions.
They lined themselves up right from the start. How arrogant is that statement?
Because U.S. banks and credit card issuers were largely
unwilling to process their payments, the Poker Companies
allegedly used fraudulent methods to circumvent federal law and
trick these institutions into processing payments on their
behalf. For example, defendants ISAI SCHEINBERG and PAUL TATE of
PokerStars, RAYMOND BITAR and NELSON BURTNICK of Full Tilt Poker,
and SCOTT TOM and BRENT BECKLEY of Absolute Poker, arranged for
the money received from U.S. gamblers to be disguised as payments
to hundreds of non-existent online merchants purporting to sell
merchandise such as jewelry and golf balls. Of the billions of
dollars in payment transactions that the Poker Companies tricked
U.S. banks into processing, approximately one-third or more of
the funds went directly to the Poker Companies as revenue through
the "rake" charged to players on almost every poker hand played
online.
Thats translates into collecting profits throgh the back door up front and not paying any taxes on it. Worse it looks like the monies dumped into the same primary accounts making it easy to know not just how much,but how much was disperesed to the stable of stars and advertisers. I will presume in the future we will start hearing some real numbers as the international tax man raises his head and says wait a minute, whats going on here? Worse, many we have not heard about were on the take to and are either on the run also or will be running soon. Its going to get ugly. Brace yourselves.
As alleged in the Indictment, to accomplish their
fraud, the Poker Companies worked with an array of highly
compensated "payment processors" – including defendants RYAN
LANG, IRA RUBIN, BRADLEY FRANZEN, and CHAD ELIE – who obtained
-2accounts at U. S. banks for the Poker Companies. The payment
processors lied to banks about the nature of the financial
transactions they were processing, and covered up those lies, by,
among other things, creating phony corporations and websites to
disguise payments to the Poker Companies. For example, a
PokerStars document from May 2009 acknowledged that they received
money from U.S. gamblers through company names that "strongly
imply the transaction has nothing to do with PokerStars," and
that PokerStars used whatever company names "the processor can
get approved by the bank.
WHY IS THIS OK FOR THESE PEOPLE TO DO THIS JUST SO YOU CAN CAUSUALLY GAMBLE ONLINE?? I dont get it. You are a VICTIM HOW EXACTLY? They did it for you, you know. NOW YOU WANT TO BLAME THE DOJ FOR DOING THIER JOB??? GTFO.
Exactly how is this suppressing your freedom and rights. WHAT ABOUT THE NORMAL PEOPLE in the world whom dont gamble period, but, have accounts at these weak finacial places. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE OF THE BANKS GO UNDER BECAUSE THE POKER MONEY IS GONE. Did you think about that at all?? Or is it all about you as always and you just dont care??
By late 2009, after U.S. banks and financial
institutions detected and shut down multiple fraudulent bank
accounts used by the Poker Companies, SCHEINBERG and BITAR
developed a new processing strategy that would not involve lying
to banks. PokerStars, FullTilt Poker, and their payment
processors persuaded the principals of a few small, local banks
facing financial difficulties to engage in such processing in
return for multi-million dollar investments in the banks. For
example, in September 2009, ELIE and others approached defendant
JOHN CAMPOS, the Vice Chairman of the Board and part-owner of
SunFirst Bank, a small, private bank based in Saint George, Utah,
about processing Internet poker transactions. While expressing
"trepidations," CAMPOS allegedly agreed to process gambling
transactions in return for a $10 million investment in SunFirst
by ELIE and an associate, which would give them a more than 30%
ownership stake in the bank. CAMPOS also requested and received
a $20,000 "bonus" for his assistance. In an e-mail, one of
ELIE’s associates boasted that they had "purchased" SunFirst and
that they "were looking to purchase" "a grand total of 3 or 4
banks" to process payments.
You created a monster. Accept your role and responsiblity in this matter and move on with your lives. YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM. YOU VICTIMIZED YOURSELVES.
