Quote:
Originally Posted by nrocme
It's indirect, but the events leading to PokerStars becoming a public company were triggered by UIGEA, imo of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Land O Lakes
Triggered by UIGEA in what way?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nrocme
If UIGEA doesn't happen, then DOJ has no law to go after FTP and Stars. Without DOJ action, most likely FTP and Stars continue as was normal prior to BF and Stars execs don't need to make a deal to avoid criminal prosecution.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Land O Lakes
UIGEA was never listed by the DoJ as the reason for Stars and FTP's bank account seizures, fines and charges because it didn't apply.
That's disingenuous.
It is narrowly true that the specific legal reasons for forfeiture cited by the DOJ in the Civil Complaint included only Illegal Gambling, Bank and Wire Fraud, and Money Laundering, but that's only because UIGEA violation doesn't give rise to forfeiture.
However,
the criminal indictments against Sheinberg and Tate from PokerStars listed five counts in relation to PokerStars. The first count was Conspiracy to Violate
the UIGEA, the second count was Violation of
the UIGEA. The third through fifth counts were Illegal Gambling Business, Bank and Wire Fraud, and Money Laundering.
The initial seizures on Black Friday were made under an injunction obtained pursuant to
the criminal indictment.
The criminal indictment was the basis of the Civil Complaint which sought the forfeiture of the Stars and FTP assets. This is laid out in paragraph 9 of the Introduction section of the Civil Complaint.
In Paragraph 1 of the Introduction of the Civil Complaint, the DoJ alleges that the banks were reluctant to process the sites' transactions, and so the sites resorted to the methods that constituted Bank and Wire Fraud to get around the banks' reluctance. Of course, the reason the banks were reluctant to process the sites' transactions was because
the UIGEA made it illegal for them to do so.
Furthermore, the acts alleged as the Bank and Wire Fraud, and as the Money Laundering related to the Bank and Wire Fraud, were presented as the very same Acts that constituted the violation of
the UIGEA and arrangement of which constituted the conspiracy to violate
the UIGEA.
Without
the UIGEA, it is improbable that the alleged fraudulent acts would have been alleged to have taken place. (There would have been no need for them.) This would have eliminated the Bank and Wire Fraud allegations and the related Money Laundering allegations which gave rise to seizures.
To this day, Isai Scheinberg remains a
fugitive at large from US criminal charges of
UIGEA violation and
UIGEA conspiracy. The likelyhood of New Jersey or any other US jurisdiction licensing PokerStars while a
fugitive remains their largest owner is next to nil.
So please get out of here with the notion that the events leading to Pokerstars becoming a public company were not triggered by the UIGEA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nrocme
I must be totally mis-informed then. Can you explain this to me since obviously you do not agree with anything I have said and believe? Seriously, I want to understand this.
I don't think you're "totally misinformed". I think the only thing you might be argued to have got wrong is whether the UIGEA being a trigger was "indirect".
HTH.
