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Pay Per Head Poker News – PokerStars Founder Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gambling
Isai Scheinberg stated he was guilty of running an illegal gambling business. His plea came two months after the PokerStars founder surrendered to law enforcement authorities in the US. He initially pled not guilty to all charges after posting a $1 million bail.
However, he changed his plea to guilty of running an illegal gambling business. As a result, he faces a maximum of five years in prison. The Department of Justice told sportsbook pay per head news reporters that Congress is recommending the maximum punishment for Scheinberg. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan is responsible for giving out Scheinberg’s sentence.
Aside from Scheinberg, ten other executives of online poker rooms were charged with money laundering, illegal gambling, and bank fraud in April 2011. The online poker industry called it infamous Black Friday.
PokerStars Founder Guilty
Scheinberg is the last of the eleven executives who admitted their guilt. The US government seized domain names and funds of the online poker sites that were operating in the country after the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006.
According to bookie PPH reports, it is unlikely that Scheinberg will spend some time in jail. Federal prosecutor Olga Zverovich told bookie software news outlets that the US agreed on a settlement with Scheinberg.
Scheinberg founded PokerStars in 2001 and remained operational within the legal grey area in the US after 2006. In 2012, the poker firm agreed to a civil asset forfeiture settlement with the federal government. Also, it gave $547 million to the government.
In 2013, Scheinberg’s son paid an additional $50 million. The next year, the family sold the company to Amaya for $4.9 billion. Since then, it managed to reenter the US market legally. At present, it has a presence in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey markets.
