http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/...ndering-probe/

Various payment processors and players who received checks mentioned in the article.

LoL....Try an online poker sweat shop operation...

So if I have this right some guy who pretended to be a real estate buyer was sending online GAMBLING money to people. Sounds like a clear cut violation of bank fraud IMO not sure this is really related to online poker all that much other than the fact that it is being lumped in with possible other forms of gambling.

Pretty sure this guy knew he was taking a big risk handling these transactions and was aware of the potential consequences.

The scary part of this story is that online poker companies have to go to people like this when they aren't breaking any laws as defined by the UIEGA. I think everyone remembers that DOJ lady mentioning "taking bets" being the bar and obviously online poker companies don't typically do that since they charge a fee.

I think we can expect a lot more of these types of stories as June approaches. Though this story was months in the making.

FFS now we have both the banks and FedEx doing the government's police work.

Plus idiots who can't keep their mouth shut about where their money is coming from.

Sigh. At least the world is safe from a hardened criminal who was *sending checks to people.*

I can attest that this payment processor was doing major poker site payouts. Maybe online gambling sites as well, but certainly one of the big poker sites.

uhhh yea, two of those processors look rather familiar

should anyone who received checks from these processors expect any reprecussions?

Is it legal for the newspaper to be specifying individual check recipient names, their information, and check amounts? Since these people haven't been convicted of any crimes, isn't there a clear implication by this article that they've committed a crime?

Also, how can Fedex employees open packages based on their own suspicions? Don't they need a warrant for that?

I wondered about that too. My suspicion is that these people were specifically named in the court papers which if the court didn't seal them are public record.

I'll bet if you read the fine print in FedEx contracts/bill of ladings (or whatever they're called) that they are allowed to do this if they're suspicous that something is fishy with a package. I suspect that it is being claimed the FedEx employees did this based on their own suspicions because that puts it in the allowable category. Were a federal agent to approach them and ask them to open some on their own it might not be legal without the warrant.

I have received checks from AP from MCM. TE, I am going to get this off my chest one more time and then I will not say another word.

IT IS TIME FOR THE PPA TO INITIATE LITIGATION OVER THE LEGALITY OF ONLINE POKER ON BEHALF OF ALL ITS MEMBERS. The bills in Congress are not being pushed, especially in the Senate, and are not likely to become law anytime this year. OTOH, the DOJ is stepping up its efforts to choke off money transfer methods to and from online poker sites. If the PPA really represents the players, then it is time to litigate against these stepped up efforts.

I renewed my premium membership this year. I will not do it again unless the PPA uses litigation to attempt to establish the legality of the services of offshore online poker sites and the illegality of these DOJ seizures and indictments against individuals who are just intermediaries for sites to transfer cashouts to players. The PPA and its members have nothing to lose from litigation and can only gain from it.

JP, this might not be the case for the PPA to get involved in. If the article is correct it doesn't look as though this guy had a registered 'legal' business for operating an money transfer business like he was. Besides the legality of online poker issue this particular processing business may not have set up a proper legal operation to begin with. If you're going to set up a business like this you need to dot all your i's and cross all your t's and he may not have done so.

What is scary here to the online poker player is that the online sites are desparate(?) enough to use this guy as a means to disperse funds. Speaks to being limited in how they can pay out funds in the current environment and how difficult it is to hide a whale (bulk payouts) under a wash cloth from the government.

Seems this guy has committed fraud elsewhere:

Translated from German (h/t to Pokerati)

I was thinking the same thing

This is what bothers me the most. Would these court papers also have included the players Facebook info, as she reported?

How can we view these court papers? I'm sickened by this article and how it was presented. I will be leaving a comment on this reporters page, I encourage everyone else to as well.

The Pokerati article had one tidbit that wasn't in the article posted in OP. If they have good information then the law enforcement agency involved is the Secret Service. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I am can comment, but this might imply that the impetous for this investigation was fraud and/or money laundering rather than online poker.

Having read everything so far, it definitely looks more like legitimate money laundering concerns than concerns specific to online poker IMO. I'm not particularly worried about this, other than the partial bump in payment processing that may result.

The mention of specific poker players receiving cashouts in the article is certainly unwarranted and unacceptable, unless the particular players consented to their inclusion in the article, which I doubt. Is being tied to a suspected money launderer really an "offense" (how would the players even know?) that would cause somebody to lose their right to privacy?

The PPA should start its own case whether or not it gets involved in this case which may involve some allegation of bank fraud. Although any case of bank fraud with no intent to cause loss to the bank is weak and may be difficult to obtain a jury conviction, but it may be proper under federal statutes.

You can't tell me the Emperor has no clothes. Someone will pop in shortly with a laundry list.

Okay, how do you propose they do that?

FWIW I contacted one of the players mentioned in the article. He thanked me as he was unaware. He said he thought it was "pretty outrageous that theyd name names on there" and that the article was "still a strange article to say the least."

So yea, he was completely unaware.

I think you're batting .1000 here. From what I know, FedEx can go through any package they deem suspicious. I'm aware of occasions where they contacted law enforcement to witness the opening of a package if they suspected it contained drugs.

I'd bet my bottom dollar that this is true (though when I win, please pay me via wire transfer). IIRC the Secret Service was once part of the Treasury Department and thus has national jurisdiction over many financial crimes. I recall that there was once talk of moving the SS to the Homeland Security department, but I don't know what ever came of that.

TruePoker should litigate if there is an easy, winnable case there. Would be a huge boon to the customers it serves.

It would be truly, truly terrible news for our cause if this guy was involved in actual money laundering with online poker funds. Not sure if Id keep playing online if that was the case, risks would be exponentially higher.

What is your definitions of "actual money laundering"?