World Cup Gambling Hub Lands Ambassador in Vegas Court
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...gas-court.html
Maybe Phua can claim diplomatic immunity.After his June 18th arrest, Phua posted bail in Macau and flew to Las Vegas on his private plane. He has a diplomatic passport from the Republic of San Marino, for which he is the ambassador to Montenegro, according to a July 14th court filing by his lawyer.
I read this as him being a backer of sorts.Originally Posted by NaturalBornHustler
Feds Allegedly Broke Man’s Internet, Posed as Cable Technicians to Search His Home
by Tina Nguyen | 11:15 am, October 29th, 2014
"Next time your cable guy takes his sweet, maddeningly long time fixing your connection speed, it may be because they’re federal agents posing as cable guys, who broke your internet to gain access to your house to search for incriminating evidence. (Or they could just be incompetent, and you could just be paranoid. OR ARE YOU?)
Those are the allegations being made by a group of Chinese gamblers, who filed a lawsuit claiming that the FBI had snuck into their suite in Las Vegas to search for evidence of an illegal sports betting operation — a lawsuit with big implications for the Fourth Amendment.'
More:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/feds-...arch-his-home/
Another article:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...hout-warrants/
Wow, interesting.
I wonder if this will get all these guys off on a technicality.
[QUOTE=Dan Druff;308757]Maybe not, remember these Chinese gamblers are foreign citizens not U.S. citizens.
Paul Phua is actually a Malaysian citizen.
Does the U.S. Constitution protect foreign citizens from warrantless searches?
The bill of rights applies to everyone, even illegal immigrants.
US judge rules evidence tainted by FBI ruse in Vegas case
http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/...cm_cat=Article
No evidence...No case.LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal investigators already knew about a wealthy Malaysian businessman when his $48 million Gulfstream jet touched down in neon-lit Las Vegas last June, days after his arrest and release in Macau on allegations that he headed an operation there taking illegal bets on FIFA World Cup soccer games.
FBI and Nevada Gaming Control Board agents believed Wei Seng "Paul" Phua was a high-ranking member of an organized crime syndicate called the 14K Triad, according to an FBI case agent's testimony in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
They thought Phua was moving his illegal Internet bet-taking operation from the Chinese gambling enclave 40 miles from Hong Kong to high-roller guest suites at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
But investigators couldn't get inside the layers of security in a part of Caesars Palace usually reserved for presidents and celebrities.
Federal prosecutors in Las Vegas now say they think the operation handled about $13 million in illegal bets before Phua, 50, his son, Darren Wai Kit Phua, 23, and six other people were arrested July 13.
But a judge ruled Monday that evidence seized in the case should be thrown out because it was obtained through deception — a first-of-its-kind ruse to disrupt Internet service during satellite feeds of soccer matches, then pose as repair technicians to get inside.
"They misrepresented their identities, and they misrepresented the purpose for which they were there," U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen wrote in one of two rulings on the question of whether agents violated the Phuas' rights and evidence seized in the case in early July should be suppressed.
"This case raises the difficult question of how far law enforcement ... may go in engaging in deceptive conduct to gather evidence of criminal activity in places where citizens have a reasonable expectation of privacy," Leen wrote.
The agents knew several people they believed were associated with the Phuas had asked to add dedicated high-speed Internet service, additional computer equipment and extra TV monitors in the posh 8,000-square-foot villas, according to testimony.
The vaulted-ceiling suites come with round-the-clock butlers and might rent for $40,000 a night if they weren't occupied by the casino's highest rollers. State Gaming Control Agent Ricardo Lopez said he was sure it was an international Internet gambling boiler room.
The agents later reported to a judge that they saw Paul Phua receive a computer message saying "good luck on the hedge bet" from an illegal Asian online wagering website.
They said Darren Phua quickly switched his laptop screen from a login screen for an illegal sports wagering site to Google when he noticed someone was looking.
But FBI Agent Minh Pham should have reported that the reason they knew that was because they used the repairman ruse to get inside.
Leen said the investigators violated the occupants' Fourth Amendment rights when they disregarded a butler's instructions to remain in a service pantry while delivering a laptop computer, and entered other parts of the suite.
Her 32-page report, dated Friday, said the trial judge should throw out evidence obtained by deceiving the federal magistrate judge who issued the warrant.
"The search warrant is fatally flawed and lacks probable cause to support the search," she said.
The affidavit also never disclosed what led investigators to declare that Phua was a high-ranking member of the 14K Triad, Leen added.
Phua's defense attorneys deny he has organized crime ties.
Leen's other recommendation, 33 pages and dated Monday, was more nuanced. It said investigators didn't violate the Phuas' right to be free from unreasonable search, because the Phuas consented to having someone come in their hotel suite to fix an Internet outage.
Leen acknowledged that the Phuas and others in the room didn't know the two "technicians" were FBI and Gaming Control agents wearing lapel cameras.
But, she said, "the Phuas surrendered their privacy to what they exposed to the view" of the two men invited in to work in the suite.
Defense attorneys Thomas Goldstein, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld have suggested that references to the ruse were deliberately scrubbed from investigative files and FBI reports turned over to the defense in preparation for trial. It came to light when the defense was given the lapel camera video.
The Phuas have pleaded not guilty to transmission of wagering information and operating an illegal gambling business charges that, combined, carry the possibility of up to 14 years in prison.
Chesnoff said Monday the entire case should be dismissed.
"This is a complete repudiation of law enforcement officers not following the Constitution and fully informing judges of their activities," he said.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said prosecutors were reviewing Leen's recommendations. The government has up to two weeks to object.
Leen previously acknowledged the likelihood that her decision would be appealed. U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon would make a final ruling on the evidence and preside if there is a trial.
Leen is due to meet this week with prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The Phuas were released after their July arrests on a combined $2.5 million bail posted by friends including poker professional Andrew Robl and 10-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Ivey.
The government also impounded the jet as collateral. The father and son remain under house arrest in Las Vegas, wearing GPS monitors.
Looks like Phil Ivey, Andrew Robl and others will be making money very soon again.
Malaysian businessman’s son to plead guilty in betting scheme
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/la...betting-scheme
So even though the FBI made an unconstitutional, warrantless search that violated federal law, the judge is going to allow it anyway.Amid an intense legal battle to get criminal charges dismissed, the son of wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phua has agreed to plead guilty in what prosecutors say was an illegal international betting scheme.
Darren Phua, 23, plans to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge involving the transmission of wagering information and forfeit $125,000 and other electronic equipment seized in a July 9 raid in the operation at the luxury Caesars Palace villas, according to his lawyer and court documents filed by federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon has set 10 a.m Friday for Phua to enter his change of plea in court. The plea agreement has not been publicly filed.
Defense lawyer Richard Schonfeld told Gordon that Phua is pleading guilty because he is homesick and wants to return to his friends and family in Malaysia. After spending nine months in Las Vegas with his father fighting the case, Phua is “ready to go home,” he said.
Paul Phua, a widely known poker player who also was indicted in the case, is still fighting illegal gambling charges. The FBI alleges he is tied to the powerful Chinese crime syndicate known as the 14K Triad, but his lawyers have strongly denied the claim. His trial is set for April 13 before Gordon.
Six other defendants were indicted with the Phuas in the betting operation prosecutors say accepted millions of dollars in illegal wagers on the World Cup soccer tournament last year. Five defendants from Malaysia and China pleaded guilty in December and each was fined and sentenced to five years of probation on condition they stay out of the United States during that period. The case against a sixth defendant was dismissed.
Darren Phua is likely to receive a similar sentence to the other defendants, most of whom pleaded guilty to misdemeanor accessory after the fact to transmission of wagering information.
The case has attracted national and international attention because of the prominence of the Phuas in the worldwide poker community — professional player Phil Ivey helped put up their bail — and an unusual ruse used by FBI and Nevada gaming agents to access the villas and gather evidence before the July raid.
Last month U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen found that “false and misleading statements” were made by FBI agents in a sworn affidavit seeking permission to search the Caesars villas. Leen concluded the search warrant affidavit, even without the errors and false statements, was “fatally flawed” and lacked probable cause to support the search.
But federal prosecutors dispute Leen’s findings in court papers, arguing that agents presented plenty of evidence when applying for the search warrant to show probable cause to think the Phuas were engaged in criminal activity.
Prosecutors asked Gordon to reject Leen’s findings and keep the case against the Phuas alive.
In an earlier court hearing, prosecutors said they would have a tough time proving the case without computers, iPads, dozens of cellphones and other electronic equipment seized from the three villas.
While finding fault with the search warrant, Leen did not buy a defense argument that agents conducted an unconstitutional, warrantless search of the villa to bolster the search warrant affidavit.
Phuas’ attorneys, Schonfeld, David Chesnoff and Thomas Goldstein, have asked Gordon to overrule Leen’s finding that agents did not violate the Phua’s constitutional rights by using a ruse to enter their Caesars villa four days before the raid.
Agents cut Internet service to a villa on July 5, gaining entry posing as technicians working to fix the problem. Despite the deception, the Phuas effectively consented to that visit by allowing the agents in, Leen concluded.
Leen, however, chastised the agents for failing to disclose the ruse when getting authorization for the July 9 raid. She said the magistrate judge who approved the search warrant, Nancy Koppe, should have been given that information to help her determine whether agents had demonstrated probable cause for the July 9 search.
The FBI has a major hard-on for Paul Phua.
He's going to have to plead guilty to a felony, do a year or two in federal prison and forfeit and/or pay millions of dollars in fines.
Or go to trial and risk 5 to 10 years in prison + tens of millions in fines.
There was other evidence not collected from the search - phone calls of people making bets on soccer, etc. The old man willl plea eventually I'm sure - they probably want his airplane too or whateverMalaysian businessman’s son to plead guilty in betting scheme
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/la...betting-scheme
So even though the FBI made an unconstitutional, warrantless search that violated federal law, the judge is going to allow it anyway.Amid an intense legal battle to get criminal charges dismissed, the son of wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phua has agreed to plead guilty in what prosecutors say was an illegal international betting scheme.
Darren Phua, 23, plans to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge involving the transmission of wagering information and forfeit $125,000 and other electronic equipment seized in a July 9 raid in the operation at the luxury Caesars Palace villas, according to his lawyer and court documents filed by federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon has set 10 a.m Friday for Phua to enter his change of plea in court. The plea agreement has not been publicly filed.
Defense lawyer Richard Schonfeld told Gordon that Phua is pleading guilty because he is homesick and wants to return to his friends and family in Malaysia. After spending nine months in Las Vegas with his father fighting the case, Phua is “ready to go home,” he said.
Paul Phua, a widely known poker player who also was indicted in the case, is still fighting illegal gambling charges. The FBI alleges he is tied to the powerful Chinese crime syndicate known as the 14K Triad, but his lawyers have strongly denied the claim. His trial is set for April 13 before Gordon.
Six other defendants were indicted with the Phuas in the betting operation prosecutors say accepted millions of dollars in illegal wagers on the World Cup soccer tournament last year. Five defendants from Malaysia and China pleaded guilty in December and each was fined and sentenced to five years of probation on condition they stay out of the United States during that period. The case against a sixth defendant was dismissed.
Darren Phua is likely to receive a similar sentence to the other defendants, most of whom pleaded guilty to misdemeanor accessory after the fact to transmission of wagering information.
The case has attracted national and international attention because of the prominence of the Phuas in the worldwide poker community — professional player Phil Ivey helped put up their bail — and an unusual ruse used by FBI and Nevada gaming agents to access the villas and gather evidence before the July raid.
Last month U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen found that “false and misleading statements” were made by FBI agents in a sworn affidavit seeking permission to search the Caesars villas. Leen concluded the search warrant affidavit, even without the errors and false statements, was “fatally flawed” and lacked probable cause to support the search.
But federal prosecutors dispute Leen’s findings in court papers, arguing that agents presented plenty of evidence when applying for the search warrant to show probable cause to think the Phuas were engaged in criminal activity.
Prosecutors asked Gordon to reject Leen’s findings and keep the case against the Phuas alive.
In an earlier court hearing, prosecutors said they would have a tough time proving the case without computers, iPads, dozens of cellphones and other electronic equipment seized from the three villas.
While finding fault with the search warrant, Leen did not buy a defense argument that agents conducted an unconstitutional, warrantless search of the villa to bolster the search warrant affidavit.
Phuas’ attorneys, Schonfeld, David Chesnoff and Thomas Goldstein, have asked Gordon to overrule Leen’s finding that agents did not violate the Phua’s constitutional rights by using a ruse to enter their Caesars villa four days before the raid.
Agents cut Internet service to a villa on July 5, gaining entry posing as technicians working to fix the problem. Despite the deception, the Phuas effectively consented to that visit by allowing the agents in, Leen concluded.
Leen, however, chastised the agents for failing to disclose the ruse when getting authorization for the July 9 raid. She said the magistrate judge who approved the search warrant, Nancy Koppe, should have been given that information to help her determine whether agents had demonstrated probable cause for the July 9 search.
The FBI has a major hard-on for Paul Phua.
He's going to have to plead guilty to a felony, do a year or two in federal prison and forfeit and/or pay millions of dollars in fines.
Or go to trial and risk 5 to 10 years in prison + tens of millions in fines.
The longer the case against Paul Phua does on, the more money David Chesnoff makes.
View on scribd here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/262465364/
It's OVER!!! David Chesnoff beat the case, so maybe there is hope for Micon.
Judge dismisses World Cup-linked betting case against Malaysian businessman
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/la...an-businessman
A federal judge Monday dismissed conspiracy and illegal gambling charges against wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phua after prosecutors admitted their case had collapsed.
Prosecutors fought the dismissal in court, but U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon said it was the proper decision after prosecutors told him they no longer had enough evidence to present at trial.Judge Dismisses Case Against High-Stakes Poker Player Paul PhuaPhua, 51, a widely known poker player and Strip high roller worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was supposed to stand trial June 15.
The dismissal means his $2 million bail, $48 million jet and passport will be returned, and he is free to go back to Malaysia to see his ailing mother. He has been forced to stay in Las Vegas under court-ordered electronic monitoring the past 10 months as the legal drama over his arrest played out.
With Case Dismissed, Phua Presumably Can Resume Playing Poker Immediately
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news...ayer-paul-phua
The government’s improper collection of evidence that resulted in an illegal gambling indictment against high-stakes poker player and wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phau has finally resulted in the case against him being dismissed.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a federal judge in Nevada made the ruling Monday. Last July, FBI agents seized evidence from Caesars Palace, where Phua was staying and allegedly operating a World Cup betting scheme via the Internet.
Phua was set to stand trial this month.
Six co-defendants pleaded guilty and didn’t receive any prison time, while another case was dismissed. Phua’s son was among those charged.
Thanks to the indictment, Phua was barred from playing poker in Las Vegas casinos. It’s unclear when he will resume playing. He has competed at the WSOP in the past.
His connections to the poker community were valuable after his arrest in Las Vegas. Phua and his son saw poker pro Phil Ivey post $1 million toward their bail. Poker pro Andrew Robl also put up a seven-figure sum to help get the accused out of jail.
In a court document filed on Friday, lawyers for Phua addressed the collateral the government had in its possession, saying that it should be returned. They made reference to the money put up by Ivey and Robl.
some longform on espn.com about our buddy Paul Phua.
http://espn.go.com/chalk/story/_/id/...-away-free-man
How the world's biggest bookie was snared at last year's WSOP -- and walked a free man
Paul Phua claims he's not the "world's biggest bookie" and is not a Triad mafia member.
Paul Phua is just an investor, mostly in real estate.
For the past 7 or 8 years, Phua has only made money from poker.
I guess Phil Ivey, Andrew Robl and other high stakes poker pro's must like losing millions of dollars to him on a regular basis.
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2016/0...ells-24367.htm
Paul Phua Tells All: "I Am Not What the Media Alleges Me To Be"
You gotta love the way PokerNews never ever fact checks a story.
:LOL
I don't think he can grind enough video poker to pay his attorney
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