Poker player from Oregon had $4 million in assets seized over alleged movie piracy site

Here's the Flushdraw article about it: http://www.flushdraw.net/news/irs-se...-poker-player/

The Flushdraw article won't name him, but Druff said on radio tonight it's Talon White.

He's right, that's who it is.

I attached two government documents, the second of which verifies it's him.

He is 28 years old and finished 14th at the $10k O8 event at the 2018 WSOP, which Druff also played.

http://www.wsop.com/images/all_playe...on_T1_3572.jpg

Here's his Hendon Mob: https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/pla...p?a=r&n=247129

Obviously they just wanted his assets, sure they will charge him but the free money was the goal.

Further on who makes $6M in pirating and buys a house and keeps assets of any kind within the US.

Stupid or arrogant, we'll never know.

I'll confirm this now that it's out there a bit. There were several reasons I held back, most importantly that he hadn't been arrested yet, though I think most people who've looked into the story think that might be one of the likeliest next developments. Who knows, though: Maybe the feds are trying to catch some alleged co-conspirators, but it seems like they did a good job of tracing most of the money back to White, if the allegations are true. There are also some really squirrelly things regarding how his house was sued, but not him, and why the MPAA hasn't sued him civilly, I really have no clue. It could even be a situation where there is an indictment but it's currently under seal, as happened with a couple of pre-Black Friday third-party-processor cases. I have no firm best guess but what's out there does not add up right now.

There should also be, by what I see, two separate court complaints involving White and these movie-piracy charges, but I've only been able to locate one of them to date online, that dealing with the house seizure. The other case, involving the $4 million plus in bank accounts and crypto, is the one in which there was a forfeiture hearing last week. It probably has some weird title like "IRS v Wells Fargo Bank Account #XXXXXXX," but I haven't found it yet, and that's because White won't be listed as a party in that action until and unless he files as a claimant in the matter, just as he had to do with the home. It's not for sure that he will file but I expect that at some point in the next month or two.

Update: Poker Player Talon White Heads To Prison For Movie Piracy

Poker player Talon White has been sentenced to 12 months in a federal prison after admitting to operating subscription-based websites that illegally streamed thousands of copyright-protected movies and television shows to users.

The Newport, Oregon native, 31, listed his occupation as “professional poker player” when he was arrested in November 2019 and charged with copyright infringement and tax evasion. But it’s clear where the lion’s share of his income came from.

As a poker player, White earned $100,000 in gross live tournament winnings between 2012 and his arrest in 2019. The highlight of his career was a 14th-place finish in a World Series of Poker event in 2018. But during the same period, his day job, digital piracy, was proving to be distinctly more profitable.

According to prosecutors, in total White collected more than $8 million in subscription fees to his websites. Between February 2018 and September 2018 alone, he amassed nearly $3 million.

Millions Seized
According to court documents, in October 2013, investigators received information about numerous illegal websites linked to White. The sites allowed users to stream or download content, some of which had not yet been released to the public, prosecutors said.

The tipoffs came from online payment providers, including PayPal and Stripe, as well as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The latter fights to protect intellectual property rights for the movie and television industries.

Full Article Here: https://www.casino.org/news/talon-wh...racy-platform/