Fourth Black Friday indictee pleads guilty
Canadian Ryan Lang pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud and money laundering.
Canadian Ryan Lang yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud and violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by accepting funds in connection with online gambling, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Lang joins fellow payment processors Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, and former head of payments for Absolute Poker Brent Beckley to have so far pleaded guilty, while alleged payment processors Chad Ellie and John Campos this week requested to have their cases presented before a jury and are expected to stand trial in April in the Southern District of New York.
Entering a plea to the US District Court in Manhattan, Lang admitted helping poker companies dodge US laws preventing banks from processing online gambling proceeds. Using fake companies and statements, he helped financial brokers trick banks into processing money for the gambling businesses between 2007 and mid-2010. “I wish to publically apologise to anyone I’ve harmed by my conduct,” the Wall Street Journal reported Lang as saying in court.
Lang, who will be sentenced on 24 September 2012, could face a sentence of up to 30 years imprisonment.
Black Friday rocked the US egaming industry in April 2011, when the founders and payment processors of three of the biggest names in online poker “ PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker “ were accused of alleged bank fraud, illegal gambling offences and money laundering.
Yesterday Federal prosecutors in Baltimore indicted Bodog founder Calvin Ayre and three other individuals connected to the company just hours after US authorities seized the company’s dot.com domain.
A federal grand jury indicted parent company Bodog Entertainment Group S.A., and four individuals, for conducting an illegal sports betting business and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment was announced by US Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge William Winter of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric C. Hyton of the Internal Revenue Service “ Criminal Investigation.
The individuals named in the indictment are Ayre; business partner James Philip; David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney. The indictment alleges the defendants conducted an illegal gambling business from at least 9 June 2005 to 6 January 2012, moving funds from Bodog accounts based in Switzerland, England, Malta, Canada and elsewhere to pay players, media brokers and advertisers in the States. Prosecutors suggest that at least US$100m was sent by wire and cheque to gamblers located in Maryland and elsewhere.
It goes on to claim that in order to attract players to the Bodog.com site, the indictees used a media broker to run an advertising campaign, paying over $42m in costs for advertising over the seven year period.