I guess a few more people may soon join this exclusive club
http://gaming.nv.gov/index.aspx?page=72
I guess a few more people may soon join this exclusive club
http://gaming.nv.gov/index.aspx?page=72
SOBCHAK SECURITY 213-799-7798
PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
The FBI were involved from the beginning.Originally Posted by haleylh
Phua is on quite a few watch lists.
I'm not referring to team viewer or gotomypc.com software.
A Caesars technician and FBI agent presented a windows laptop to people in the villa.
This was how they collected evidence on this case.
FBI use special top secret trojan horse malware to obtain evidence, illegally.
The defense will have the laptop analyzed, but that software was deleted and no trace of it exists.
Why wouldn't Phua have his associates just setup a Nevada corporation, get office space near the Las Vegas strip, then get multiple T-1/high speed internet lines?
Why would he get 8 Centurylink DSL lines and run everything out of villas at Caesars?
Does he need that many DSL lines just to download porn?
Also, if Phua wasn't gambling about a million a day in the casino, wouldn't Caesars be very suspicious?
The FBI were involved from the beginning.
Phua is on quite a few watch lists.
I'm not referring to team viewer or gotomypc.com software.
A Caesars technician and FBI agent presented a windows laptop to people in the villa.
This was how they collected evidence on this case.
FBI use special top secret trojan horse malware to obtain evidence, illegally.
The defense will have the laptop analyzed, but that software was deleted and no trace of it exists.
Why wouldn't Phua have his associates just setup a Nevada corporation, get office space near the Las Vegas strip, then get multiple T-1/high speed internet lines?
Why would he get 8 Centurylink DSL lines and run everything out of villas at Caesars?
Does he need that many DSL lines just to download porn?
Also, if Phua wasn't gambling about a million a day in the casino, wouldn't Caesars be very suspicious?
The thing that did them in is that they did this on a Caesars property. Stupid criminals are stupid. Literally ANYWHERE else other than at a casino they would have gotten away with this.
bro getting free food brought to your room at all hours was worth the risk do you know how much asians love their casino smoothies
Repeating this...
... doesn't make it true.
While it's possible the information in the indictment is false, I'm not going to join you in that particular conspiracy theory. The timeline laid out in the complaint says that Caesars gave the laptop to Phua's group on its own, days or weeks before the FBI got involved.
I would agree that Phua is likely on some watch lists. I don't agree that they planted malware on the laptop beforehand. There wasn't any need to do it. Hell, if they were going to do that, they could have wiretapped and recorded the DSL traffic itself.
I'm sure the defense attorneys are looking at the complaint and the warrant, and if anything is out of order, this whole case could be tossed out. Phua hasn't been indicted on any charges yet.Repeating this...
... doesn't make it true.
While it's possible the information in the indictment is false, I'm not going to join you in that particular conspiracy theory. The timeline laid out in the complaint says that Caesars gave the laptop to Phua's group on its own, days or weeks before the FBI got involved.
I would agree that Phua is likely on some watch lists. I don't agree that they planted malware on the laptop beforehand. There wasn't any need to do it. Hell, if they were going to do that, they could have wiretapped and recorded the DSL traffic itself.
As for the FBI, putting malware on other people's computers without authorization, they have done before, and in this case, they had the opportunity to do so, they play dirty.
I don't believe that Caesars technicians saw anything on computers about gambling.
In the compliant, it says no one was allowed passed the butler's pantry in the villa.
The FBI claim that Phua is a high-ranking member of the 14K Triad Chinese Mafia.
Really? Seems more like world's dumbest criminals.
Just because the FBI says something, doesn't make it true.
Oh, you mean other than those he was indicted on. Those -other- charges. And maybe some -other- ones after that.
Bizarre. Cognitive dissonance, or a personal interest?
Phua hasn't been indicted yet. Only the compliant was filed.
First there's a compliant, then there's an indictment, no indictment has been posted yet.
The feds usually do an indictment before a grand jury which will contain even more charges.
I wouldn't be surprised if they charge Phua and his associates under the old RICO laws.
If they do, he would face life in prison.
Phua does have a good defense attorney, David Chessnoff, who is used to defending members of the mafia.
He and former mayor Oscar Goodman had a law practice together and got off a lot of mobsters.
Either Phua and his friends get off on a technicality or this case will go to trial.
He may not get a happy ending.
Kinda sorta. I'll explain the vernacular for the rest of the readers. You only see a formal "indictment" if a grand jury is involved, -and- if it is deemed a 'capital' case, which gambling offenses usually aren't. Otherwise, the charges for most criminal matters are made to the court in the form of a complaint, and Phua and the others have already been thus arrested and arraigned on such a complaint.Phua hasn't been indicted yet. Only the compliant was filed.
First there's a compliant, then there's an indictment, no indictment has been posted yet.
The feds usually do an indictment before a grand jury which will contain even more charges.
I wouldn't be surprised if they charge Phua and his associates under the old RICO laws.
If they do, he would face life in prison.
Phua does have a good defense attorney, David Chessnoff, who is used to defending members of the mafia.
He and former mayor Oscar Goodman had a law practice together and got off a lot of mobsters.
Either Phua and his friends get off on a technicality or this case will go to trial.
He may not get a happy ending.
Even the Black Friday charges were made in the form of a complaint, not an indictment, though in practice the words are used somewhat interchangeably. Particularly in news reports "indictment" is often preferred, because "complaint" can be misinterpreted as something unofficial, like someone complaining about the weather. It's a slight misnomer but it's used for clarity of expression.
If the authorities do go for RICO, then there might be a formal indictment, but IMO it would be more likely that they'd just add charges and file an amended complaint.
I'm aware of Chesnoff being involved. I chatted with him once way back on the Jamie Gold case, and it seems like he's the defense attorney every time a rich or famous poker player has troubles. I also met Oscar the mob lawyer, ermmm, mayor, once, when he came around shaking everybody's hand at the opening of the Mansion PokerDome in downtown LV. (I played on that first episode from the Neonopolis studio. Yep, brag. Didn't win anything. End brag.)
I'm sure they've got a good case against them, but there has to be violation of state laws here (which triggers the IGBA Federal statute they are accused of breaking) and I am not sure how being a part of a non-us facing gaming site that doesn't take US customers is relevant but of course they throw that in there because it looks good to the judge I guess.Lots of posts and Tweets claiming the busts were illegal and/or that Phua is going to walk, or saying Caesars is stupid, most offered without any clue as to what the indictment contains. I don't want to call out people in particular, but check the 4 thread for the height of it. But seriously, when the feds have got machines full of messages like this one, which appears to be a report of the total IBCNET handle for the WC being sent to the "boss", Paul (paulpws), they've got legit evidence. Figures were testified to be believed in Hong Kong dollars, which is where they got the estimate of just under $400 million US:
"Hi boss, this world cup until 5th July our 4 Main products Virtual win/loss as below, Handicap 1,102,638,597 Lose-610,868 -0.06% OU 1,001,581,144 5,458,620 0.55% HT- OU 150,033,961 459,419, 0.31% Grand Total including all other products 2,748,422,434 11,107,594, 0.40% This is only LIVE and is VIRTUAL."
A lot of what I lumped together as text messages when I first described them also included stuff taken from VOIP logs and recordings on the computers, which the feds also got. That included the multiple exchanges between Darren Phua and the North Las Vegas bettor placing as much as $25K on Argentina on July 9th.
They have 30 days to file an indictment after the complaint is filed. The indictment will have a lot more details about their crimes made public. The more likely outcome is we never see an indictment as they file for an enlargement of time which basically expands the 30 day limit while the defense and the government work out a deal. If they aren't trying to work out a deal, or if the deal talks don't work out, there 100% has to either be an indictment or a guilty plea. Indictments always have a lot more information than the complaint so if a defendant is going to fight, he wants to see it so he can get a better idea of the case against himOh, you mean other than those he was indicted on. Those -other- charges. And maybe some -other- ones after that.
Bizarre. Cognitive dissonance, or a personal interest?
Not sure what is up with the "Poker Media"... no one wants to spend $2.50 on pacer to download the complaint and post it. I also heard at the Illya sentencing there was a lot of stuff in there about Ivey - government has a lien on his accounts or something and maybe that is why DN had to take care of all the posting of the bracelet bet? I am not sure that is true but god forbid someone from the "poker media" spend 17 seconds, create a Federal Court reporters account and then spend the $1.77 to download the transcripts. The guys at the Smoking Gun were doing that stuff while they were still in diapers.
I'm kind of impressed with the speed with which Vegas mega-attorney Chesnoff (Phua's lawyer here) is keeping himself out in front of the story.
Different tangent -- Some reports also suggest Dwan (another Macau games participant) has knowledge of some of this stuff and was there when Phua was arrested. I think more big names are going to emerge with peripheral connections to this, but what remains to be seen is if some of these poker whales were using Phua for major sportsbetting action. It wasn't that long ago that the East Coast connection re Vadim Trincher went down.
Couldn't get link to open on my phone. Here's the text in case any one else had that problem.
By JEFF GERMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Phil Ivey and another big-name professional poker player posted $2.5 million in cash last week to bail out key defendants charged in an international illegal sports betting operation that FBI agents busted at Caesars Palace.
But the two defendants, wealthy businessman Wei Seng “Paul” Phua and son Darren Phua, both Malaysian citizens, still were behind bars Sunday because federal immigration authorities detained them for possible deportation.
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the lead investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, took custody of the Phuas after their bail was posted. Both men were listed in ICE custody Sunday at the Henderson Detention Center, records show.
Las Vegas lawyer David Chesnoff, who represents the Phuas with his partner Richard Schonfeld, said the defense team planned to challenge the ICE detention.
“Our clients have complied with every condition set by a federal judge for their release,” Chesnoff said. “We have repeatedly attempted to contact ICE authorities, who have not responded. We are going to take further legal steps.”
Chesnoff said he was “outraged” that the executive branch of government won’t honor a judicial branch order.
Ivey, a 10-time World Series of Poker champion who lives in Las Vegas, put up $1 million — $500,000 toward Paul Phua’s $2 million bail and the entire $500,000 bond for his son, according to court papers filed last week by Chesnoff and Schonfeld.
Andrew Robl, another icon on the professional poker circuit, posted the other $1.5 million of the elder Phua’s bail, the court papers show.
In an earlier sworn affidavit, Robl, who also lives in Las Vegas, said he has been a friend of Paul Phua for four years and planned to cash $1.5 million in poker chips he won at the Aria resort to help cover his bail.
Ivey and Robl aren’t the only poker stalwarts to rally behind the Phuas in the criminal case.
Another big-name poker player, Tom Dwan, was with Paul Phua and his son when FBI agents arrested them earlier this month and signed a sworn affidavit questioning the tactics of the agents.
Dwan also was present in federal court when the Phuas made initial appearances on illegal gambling charges with six other defendants. He had private discussions with defense lawyers throughout the court appearances.
Chesnoff, who also represents Ivey, called him the “top poker player in the world.” Ivey won his 10th World Series of Poker gold bracelet last month at the Rio Convention Center, tying him for second on the all-time winner’s list.
Ivey, who went through a bitter public divorce, is not a stranger to controversy. His latest bout with the courts occurred in April, when the Borgata in Atlantic City filed a federal lawsuit alleging he won $9.6 million in high-stakes baccarat in 2012 through cheating. Ivey strongly denied the claim and sought to dismiss the suit.
Phua, 50, a frequent player at poker tables in Las Vegas and Macau, and the other defendants were taken into custody by FBI agents on the Strip July 13 following a raid days earlier on the multimillion-dollar sports betting operation that took wagers on the World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil. The raid occurred at three exclusive Caesars Palace villas after the Strip resort tipped off authorities to the operation. Caesars Palace was not a target of the investigation.
In a criminal complaint, the FBI alleged that the elder Phua was “known by law enforcement to be a high-ranking member of the 14K Triad,” one of the largest criminal syndicates in the world.
Hong Kong-based 14K Triad specializes in drug trafficking and traditional forms of criminal activity, including illegal gambling, prostitution and loan sharking.
Phua and more than 20 other people were arrested June 18 in Macau for running a large gambling operation that took in hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal bets on the World Cup tournament, the Las Vegas FBI complaint alleged.
After his arrest in Macau, Phua was released on bail and flew to Las Vegas on his private jet, where he and his associates are alleged to have resumed their illegal gambling at Caesars Palace, according to the complaint.
At a July 14 hearing in Las Vegas , Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Frayn said Phua told court officials that he was worth $300 million to $400 million, but he is thought to be worth much more.
He told FBI agents during the Caesars Palace raid that he had wagered hundreds of millions of dollars on sporting events since he arrived in Las Vegas in late June. He also said he bought a widely known sports betting service in Asia for $200 million and paid $48 million for his Gulfstream jet.
Frayn sought to keep both Phuas, who are not U.S. citizens, behind bars, arguing they were threats to flee. Without citing names, Frayn said a number of Paul Phua’s poker associates may have been involved in illegal activity uncovered by the FBI investigation, which is continuing. There has been talk that more arrests are coming.
But Chesnoff and Schonfeld, who denied Phua was tied to organized crime, attacked the government’s case in court and persuaded a federal magistrate to release both defendants from custody with restrictions.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bill Hoffman ordered Paul Phua to put up the $2 million bail along with his jet as collateral. Hoffman also ordered the jet to be used as collateral for the 22-year-old Darren Phua’s 500,000 bail.
Both defendants were ordered to stay on home detention with electronic monitoring in the third-party custody of a Las Vegas physician who befriended the elder Phua while playing poker.
But their release didn’t happen because ICE grabbed the defendants before they could be freed and placed them in its custody.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.
This guy must be the biggest fucking loser of all time in the big games. Jesus Christ, it is sickening how fast that amount of cash was put up to get him out. Oh nevermind Robl knew him for a whole 4 years.
Great point.
The grand jury returned an indictment today, so there should be a lot more information available now about the governments case that wasn't available in the complaint.
Seeking the indictment means the defendants weren't willing to proceed by information and expand the 30 days indefinitely until they work out a deal, so the government was required to seek one within 30 days. It didn't take long.
I don't know what happens from here. I know not co-operating and trying to deal generally pisses them off and might cause a tack-on of charges. When it's all said and done, feels like about a 10 million dollar fine/forfeiture for the government and no jail time for the defendants.
All the big names in the poker lining up to bail these guys out.
Slick move if you ever needed a 1M+ stake. Ivey/Cates bailed 2 more out, Richard Yong and his son. Pretty sure Yong played in the 1st Big One for 1 Drop, and plays with Dwan&Co. in macau.
"According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, U.S Magistrate Judge Bill Hoffman ordered the release of Seng Chen "Richard" Yong, 56, and his son Wai Kin Yong, 22. The former was being held on a $1.5 million bond and the latter $500,000. Ivey paid the entirety of Wai Kin’s bond and $500,000 toward the elder Yong’s, while Cates posted the remaining $1 million."
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2014/0...s&utm_content=
To address Sdewinder's point, the formal criminal indictment has now been filed, and it also includes criminal forfeiture allegations that would presumably allow the USAO to seize up to the total amount it believes was wagered through the operation -- roughly $360 million -- if they could find enough assets to attach.
http://www.flushdraw.net/news/formal...betting-group/
Doubtful they'll get anywhere near that much, but I'd expect to see Phua's Gulfstream jet in a government auction in the not too-too-distant future.
At least now we know why the Feds were so interested in this.
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