Another reason I'm happy not to be American.

**OfficerFarva** · 04-17-2011, 09:53 PM

You can't even play poker online, they're cracking down on that pretty hard.

11 charged in US crackdown on online poker
AFP

11 charged in US crackdown on online poker AFP/File – Eleven people have been charged with bank fraud, money laundering, illegal gambling and other offenses …
Related Quotes Symbol Price Change
^DJUSS 584.18 +5.07
^IXIC 2,764.65 +4.43
^IXK 1,397.41 -9.94
by Chris Lefkow Chris Lefkow – Sat Apr 16, 2:13 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Eleven people have been charged with bank fraud, money laundering, illegal gambling and other offenses in a crackdown on the three largest online poker companies operating in the United States.

The founders of the companies -- PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker -- were among those charged in the indictment unsealed Friday by the US attorney for the southern district of New York.

In addition to the charges, restraining orders were issued against 76 bank accounts in 14 countries used by the poker firms, which are all based outside of the United States, along with their payment processors.

Five Internet domain names used by the companies to host their games were also seized by the authorities, who filed a complaint seeking $3 billion in money laundering penalties and forfeiture from the poker companies.

The poker companies' websites were stamped with the official seals of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice, as well as a message stating "this domain name has been seized by the FBI."

"These defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some US banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits," said US Attorney Preet Bharara.

"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."

Janice Fedarcyk, assistant director of the FBI's New York field office, said the defendants, "knowing full well that their business with US customers and US banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck.

"They lied to banks about the true nature of their business," Fedarcyk said. "The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost."

While Internet gambling has been illegal in the United States since 2006, online poker remains a multi-billion-dollar industry with companies using a variety of ways to flout the law, including locating their operations offshore.

According to the indictment, the companies arranged for money received from US gamblers to be disguised as payments to non-existent websites purporting to sell merchandise such as jewelry and golf balls.

The indictment said the poker companies tricked US banks into processing billions of dollars, but some banks were conspirators in the scheme to bypass US laws that make it illegal to handle gambling proceeds.

Among those arrested was John Campos, the part owner of SunFirst Bank, a small private bank in Saint George, Utah.

Campos, 57, allegedly agreed to process gambling transactions in return for a $10 million investment in SunFirst and a $20,000 payment for his assistance.

Three of the 11 charged are under arrest in the United States but eight of them are abroad and US authorities are seeking the assistance of Interpol and foreign law enforcement to apprehend them.

Three of the defendants are Canadians. One of them, Isai Scheinberg, 64, the founder of PokerStars, has dual Israeli-Canadian citizenship and lives on the Isle of Man.

All of the others are US citizens. Most of them live outside the United States -- in Costa Rica, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

If convicted, the defendants can face up to five years in prison for illegal Internet gambling, 20 years for money laundering and 30 years for bank and wire fraud.

US law prohibits US financial institutions from knowingly accepting payments for online gambling made through credit cards, electronic funds transfers and checks.

The US ban on Internet gambling has been challenged as an unfair trade restriction at the World Trade Organization and some lawmakers are seeking to have online gambling legalized.

NOTICE

**Zaphod** · 04-17-2011, 10:46 PM

We don't just have regular police. We also have fun police.

**phosphor** · 04-18-2011, 07:33 AM

**hardcore5000** · 04-18-2011, 08:08 AM

I was so pissed when they took down full tilt poker, because I've been studying poker and I was looking forward to the possibility of making money consistently as a pro poker player.
This is a total infringement on consumer rights by the government. It was vegas corporate lobbyists who initially got online gaming and poker illegalized. Now vegas wants to get into online poker biz, but now it's going to be hard to put the genie back in the bottle.

**Diesel618** · 04-18-2011, 02:33 PM

America is the best damn nation on the planet. How dare you slander it. You're baseball players probably still take steroids.

**ALBOB** · 04-18-2011, 03:36 PM

Yeah, minor crap like felony money laundering and bank fraud is definitely an infringement on consumer rights.

**maniclion** · 04-18-2011, 03:56 PM

We have Vegas, Atlantic City, all the Tribal Casino's, Mississipi River Boats, poker night at your buddies house...we are profusely bleeding money from this country I say it's the right thing to do, if you have to waste all your money at least do it where it can stay in rotation within the nation....

**IronAddict** · 04-18-2011, 04:02 PM

I was going to mention all those casinos but you beat me to it.

I'll just add, if you feel you must gamble online please see:Gamblers Anonymous Official Home Page

**Zaphod** · 04-18-2011, 04:04 PM

It's easier and cheaper for me to play poker with friends. $10 and the whole night is covered.

**DOMS** · 04-18-2011, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by phosphor

This picture is great. The cop has a great sense of humor.

**OfficerFarva** · 04-18-2011, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by IronAddict

I was going to mention all those casinos but you beat me to it.

I'll just add, if you feel you must gamble online please see:Gamblers Anonymous Official Home Page

Some of us have a disposable income we like to spend on entertainment. I know my limits when I go in and never go over them. Plus there aren't casino's everywhere and not all of them are even that nice to sit in. I'd rather play from the comfort of my home than sit by some guy that hasn't showered in three days.

**maniclion** · 04-18-2011, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

This picture is great. The cop has a great sense of humor.

Too bad it was real, the officer sited him for not wearing a helmet....

**DOMS** · 04-18-2011, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

Too bad it was real, the officer sited him for not wearing a helmet....

Doubtful. The kids to young to be signing anything.

**IronAddict** · 04-18-2011, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by OfficerFarva

Some of us have a disposable income we like to spend on entertainment. I know my limits when I go in and never go over them. Plus there aren't casino's everywhere and not all of them are even that nice to sit in. I'd rather play from the comfort of my home than sit by some guy that hasn't showered in three days.

Yeah, plus the beers cheaper.

**KelJu** · 04-18-2011, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

Doubtful. The kids to young to be signing anything.

I agree with the doubtful part. I disagree with the too young part. I was written a citation by a dickhead state trooper for driving my 4-wheeler to the lake when I was about 13.

**DOMS** · 04-18-2011, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by KelJu

I agree with the doubtful part. I disagree with the too young part. I was written a citation by a dickhead state trooper for driving my 4-wheeler to the lake when I was about 13.

I got a jay walking ticket when I was 12. That kid is 3 years old. It's a joke. The cop is having fun and I bet the one who took the picture was the kid's mom or dad.

**BillHicksFan** · 04-18-2011, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

The cop is having fun and I bet the one who took the picture was the kid's mom or dad.

Cops lose their sense of humour at the academy. I'm sure that cop is just a pedophile trying to lure that child in with an option to paint pictures when he gets to his home. There's got to be an angle somewhere.

**maniclion** · 04-18-2011, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by KelJu

I agree with the doubtful part. I disagree with the too young part. I was written a citation by a dickhead state trooper for driving my 4-wheeler to the lake when I was about 13.

When I was 12 I was walking my dirtbike down the street out of gas and I would run with it then sit on it side saddle and coast down hills, cause I was exhausted after walking it out of a mile of woods, when a cop came up behind me and bitched at me for driving without a license on an unlicensed, unregistered vehicle. "I better not catch you sitting on it anymore, walk it the whole way home." I told him with no gas and the engine off it's less than a bicycle, he got angry and got my parents phone number, but he never called....

**maniclion** · 04-18-2011, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

I got a jay walking ticket when I was 12. That kid is 3 years old. It's a joke. The cop is having fun and I bet the one who took the picture was the kid's mom or dad.

I know, hell it's probably his own kid...

**maniclion** · 04-18-2011, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

When I was 12 I was walking my dirtbike down the street out of gas and I would run with it then sit on it side saddle and coast down hills, cause I was exhausted after walking it out of a mile of woods, when a cop came up behind me and bitched at me for driving without a license on an unlicensed, unregistered vehicle. "I better not catch you sitting on it anymore, walk it the whole way home." I told him with no gas and the engine off it's less than a bicycle, he got angry and got my parents phone number, but he never called....

That was in the suburbs of Houston.... When I moved out to the country, I had been riding for several hours by the lake and had to push my bike 3 miles to get home, luckily the sheriff's deputy came by and actually towed me home, after I drew a map of where my friends and I had found a good trail for off-roading, he met us out there a few weekends later and we all raced the whole day....

**DOMS** · 04-18-2011, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by BillHicksFan

Cops lose their sense of humour at the academy. I'm sure that cop is just a pedophile trying to lure that child in with an option to paint pictures when he gets to his home. There's got to be an angle somewhere.

Ah, I see.

Show me on the doll where you we're touched inappropriately.

**KelJu** · 04-18-2011, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

I got a jay walking ticket when I was 12. That kid is 3 years old. It's a joke. The cop is having fun and I bet the one who took the picture was the kid's mom or dad.

No doubt. I am on board with the picture being a joke, I was just saying that you don't have to be 16 to get a ticket. I thought it was pretty retarded to right me one for riding an ATV on a road named after my own family fuck's sake.

**LAM** · 04-19-2011, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by OfficerFarva

You can't even play poker online, they're cracking down on that pretty hard.

I worked for the nevada gaming control board for a little and at GLI. the primary function of gaming regulation is not to insure that the player doesn't get cheated it's to insure that the accounting software is accurate and the IRS gets there cut.

the ROM chips in the electronic games are kept by the regulators and not by the casino's, the code in them can not be manipulated. camera's every where in the casino's to prevent tampering.

I can understand why people do it to me it's just illogical to "gamble" when the math is against you. card games definitely take some skill, doing math in my head just isn't very relaxing for me, lol...

regarding the electronic gaming devices. they all run on RNG (random number generators) and there is no trick or technique to increase your odds of winning. the selections that a player makes via input from buttons, handles, etc. are meaningless. the outcome of the game is predetermined based on mathematical probability. closing your eyes and mashing buttons has the same effect as making a choice. the only way to increase your odds of winning is to go with the highest demon and max bet, every single time...

after that guy from the world serious of poker got caught cheating I'm surprised that people trust the software. what a piece of shit

roulette is a fair game to play because the outcome can not be manipulated and the history of game play is meaningless.

**Shooters** · 04-19-2011, 11:47 AM

Canadians seems to think they are relevent in this world. Jokes on them.

**GearsMcGilf** · 04-19-2011, 11:53 AM

I don't gamble very much at all and I would never consider online gambling. It's too easy and far too addictive. The only betting I'll do is play the slots and occasionally, I'll get together with a few buddies and play some russian roulette over a couple beers.

P.S. I have to agree with ^ douche bag on the canadian comment. Canada is nothing moar than the US's sidekick or little brother. They're practically just a wart on the US's back; essentially not really even a country. If not for the US superpower status, the USSR would've probably come in and taken them over during the cold war. It would've made the nazi takeover of France look like the hundred years war.

**LAM** · 04-19-2011, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by GearsMcGilf

They're practically just a wart on the US's back; essentially not really even a country.

most Americans don't know that the PM of Canada reports directly to the Queen of England. a lot of the economic policies between Canada and the UK are not the same, it's basically still a colony in function.

**GearsMcGilf** · 04-19-2011, 02:23 PM

I have to admit I had no idea that the PM in Canada reported to the Queen. Wow. So, they are in fact not a real country. In many ways, the US is an extension of the British imperialists, in that we've been expanding the empire over the last 60 years just as the British were doing throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

**Diesel618** · 04-19-2011, 10:00 PM

Toronto is better than any American city. You guys are fuckin faggots.

**fufu** · 04-20-2011, 05:44 AM

Originally Posted by KelJu

No doubt. I am on board with the picture being a joke, I was just saying that you don't have to be 16 to get a ticket. I thought it was pretty retarded to right me one for riding an ATV on a road named after my own family fuck's sake.

No one is above the law!!!!!

**GearsMcGilf** · 04-20-2011, 07:54 AM

Thread: Another reason I'm happy not to be American.

Thread Tools

Display

Another reason I'm happy not to be American.

Similar Threads

Every American: Please watch this 'American Dream' Vid

Your reason for..

Any reason will do!!!

Posting Permissions