Joined: Jan '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 33 (M)
Posts: 704
apparently online poker is being closed down. so far (apparently PS and UB poker have been closed down FTP has stopped withdraw and deposit requests is any of this true? Also just read that some u.s players have been booted from FTP
Edited by p0ck3tr0ck3t (15 April 2011 @ 20:56 GMT)
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
i checked yahoo and google and couldnt find anything about this. Althought i cant find any working address for Absolute poker and Ultimate bet, Poker stars works normally, and i play right now at FT Maybe its a joke or hacking to those pages? if those pages search gives me are the right ones
Joined: Jan '09
Location: Italy
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 3871
Posted by p0ck3tr0ck3t: apparently online poker is being closed down. so far (apparently PS and UB poker have been closed down FTP has stopped withdraw and deposit requests is any of this true? Also just read that some u.s players have been booted from FTP
this page just popped me up when I opened fultilt then clikked on cashier and then on "my promotion" button ( I was going to check my academy status)
but can't understand what it's all about.
in the meanwhile I am regularly playing on fulltilt
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
From ESPN.com:
Sites charged with gambling offenses
The poker world was shaken Friday as the owners of the three largest online poker sites -- PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker -- were charged with bank fraud, illegal gambling offenses and money laundering. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney announced the indictments of those involved with the online poker sites as well as those who were responsible for the financial transactions. The 11 defendants are Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate (PokerStars), Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick (Full Tilt Poker), Scott Tom and Brent Beckley (Absolute Poker), and Ryan Lang, Ira Rubin, Bradley Franzen, Chad Elie and John Campos (involved with payment processors).
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in the indictment: "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."
The charges are conspiracy to violate Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), violation of UIGEA, operation of illegal gambling business, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy . Maximum penalties from these charges range from five years in prison and a $250,000 fine to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine (or twice the gross gain or loss).
"These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck," said Janice Fedarcyk, FBI assistant director-in-charge. "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."
The complaint also alleged that these companies used "fraudulent methods" to trick financial institutions into receiving payments.
"[The sites] 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."
"On behalf of the millions of poker players across the country, we are shocked at the action taken by the U.S. Department of Justice today against online poker companies and will continue to fight for Americans' right to participate in the game they enjoy," said the Poker Players Alliance in a press release. "Online poker is not a crime and should not be treated as such. We are currently gathering all of the information around today's announcement and will offer detailed analysis when the full facts become available."
The past few years, there have been numerous seizures and indictments of payment processors in the United States who were handling the financial transactions of the online poker sites. As processors continued to be targeted and shut down by federal prosecutors, the sites turned to a new direction to the point that sites "purchased the principals of a few small, local banks" that were facing tough financial times "in return for multi-million dollar investments in the banks."
Campos and Elie were arrested Friday morning, and the Southern District of New York has stated it is working with Interpol to arrest those located abroad.
Early Friday afternoon, PokerStars prohibited online poker players in the United States from participating in real-money gaming. At press time, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were still offering American players access to their sites.
ESPN.com contacted Carolyn Sullivan of the U.S. Department of Justice, but she was unable to comment at this time. PokerStars did not reply to ESPN.com's interview request, and Full Tilt Poker declined to comment on the situation at the moment.
Joined: Mar '11
Location: United States
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 1
U.S. charges 3 big poker sites with fraud, illegal gambling Action is government's most aggressive move yet to try to choke off online betting Below:
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.Advertise | AdChoices .msnbc.com staff and news service reports msnbc.com staff and news service reports updated 1 hour 38 minutes ago 2011-04-15T20:55:26 Share Print Font: +-In the most aggressive action yet to try to prevent Americans from gambling online, federal prosecutors on Friday charged three of the largest Internet poker companies with tricking banks into processing billions of dollars of illegal betting proceeds.
Only on msnbc.com Ryan budget plan passes House; only 4 GOP no votes 'Creepy' new software is a stalker's dream Cosmic Log: Is this the age of megaquakes? Why watching 'The Office' makes us cringe 10 deadly do-it-yourself gadgets Americans moving near nuclear reactors Wacky minds behind Taiwan's viral videos ..Eleven people, including the owners of Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars, were charged with violating U.S. anti-Internet gambling laws, under an indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
Prosecutors also filed civil money laundering charges seeking to recover at least $3 billion from the companies, are of which all based overseas, court documents said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation also seized five Internet domain names used by the companies to host their games and obtained restraining orders against 75 bank accounts allegedly used by the companies and their payment processors.
“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 profits,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “… In their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that 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.
Representatives for the companies could not immediately be reached to comment on the charges.
Read the prosecutors' press release in a PDF document News of the action sent waves of panic through news groups devoted to Internet poker and gambling, with many players despairing whether they would be able to recover money on deposit with the companies. Millions of U.S. players gambling online despite its dubious legality.
Advertise | AdChoicesAdvertise | AdChoices Advertise | AdChoices .Former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, now chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, which represents more than 1 million U.S. players, said in a statement that the organization was "shocked at the action taken by the U.S. Department of Justice today against online poker companies and will continue to fight for Americans’ right to participate in the game they enjoy. Online poker is not a crime and should not be treated as such."
Two of the defendants were arrested on Friday, one is expected to turn himself in to law enforcement and eight others are not currently in the United States, prosecutors said.
Arrested Friday were John Campos, vice chairman of the board and part owner of SunFirst Bank of Saint George, Utah, which allegedly processed gambling transactions for the companies, and Chad Elie, who worked as a “highly compensated payment processor,” according to the indictment.
Poker site operators Raymond Bitar, 39, and Nelson Burtnick of Full Tilt Poker; Isai Scheinberg, 64, and Paul Tate of PokerStars; and Brent Beckley, 31, and Scott Tom, 31, of Absolute Poker, were all charged with violating the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and other laws.
Payment processors Ryan Lang, Ira Rubin and Bradley Franzen also were named in the indictment.
The criminal charges outlined a scheme by the company owners and some of their employees to direct the gambling profits to online shell companies that would appear legitimate to banks processing payments.
The crackdown comes as some U.S. lawmakers have sought to pass legislation legalizing Internet gambling in hopes of tapping a massive new source of tax revenue.
The District of Columbia City Council approved a budget in 2010 to allow its lottery system to offer Internet poker to its residents. According to the Wall Street Journal, the window for Congress to stop the bill has likely been closed. Lawmakers in New Jersey also voted to make the state the nation’s first in-state Internet gambling market, but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the measure last month.
U.S. businesses also have been exploring entering the online business.
In March, Wynn Resorts Ltd. said it had entered into a partnership with PokerStars, and that they would work for passage of U.S. legislation on Internet poker.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
yea the news are spreading now and you can find articles in many sites, so it seems true. Ive also read somewhere that they seized 75 bank accounts, so we may play for nothing now, lol
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
Go figure! I find something that isn't criminal at all to enjoy in my spare time and the U.S. Gov. has to intervene. There's a lot bigger / worse things going on out there that they could spend time investigating and pursueing. This is just what I need to get me in a pizz poor mood. I mean 90% of the people playing on these sites are playing for fun, not for a living. I'm tired of this crap here in the U.S. and our government getting involved with some of the petty things going on instead of the real issues in this country. Well, I'm currently enjoying myself here in FT playing in the tournament, but I guess we'll see what our future holds for us who enjoy playing poker here in the U.S. Just can't believe this! So frustrated! Good Luck to All of You and I hope we can continue to enjoy this world wide favorite past time. God Bless us All!
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 753
I was just on the WSOP Facebook page, American poker accounts are being shut down everywhere. So for all you Americans, looks like the fed gov finally did it. Knew it was coming, just a matter of time. Time to move to Canada, where we really are free.... Any of you Americans who have not heard of the PPA, go join. Poker Players Alliance. I joined them 3 years ago. It is a site to help out with this.
