Anyone still wondering why casinos are having problems processing payouts??
I find this piece rather disturbing...
LINKY
7 indicted on Internet gambling charges, 4 companies named Fri May 11, 5:36 PM ET
Seven people and four companies were indicted on charges of conspiring to violate a US ban on Internet gambling by disguising the credit card charges, officials said Friday.
Those charged include a Canadian-based sport betting firm and a company based in the British Virgin Islands, according to the US Department of Justice.
The 34-count indictment handed down in Salt Lake City, Utah, said the defendants ran a scheme to circumvent a US law passed last year that prohibits US banks and credit card companies from processing Internet bets.
The indictment alleges that the defendants facilitated the payment of more than 150 million dollars to Internet gambling websites in violation of a US ban on online betting.
The companies named included the payment processing firms CurrenC, Ltd.of the British Virgin Islands and Utah-based Gateway Technologies and Hill Financial Services; along with the Canadian-registered wagering site BetUS.
"Virtually all Internet gambling is illegal" under US law, US Attorney Brett Tolman said in announcing the indictments.
"Individuals and businesses that facilitate illegal Internet gambling are violating numerous federal and state laws. Payment processors who attempt to hide the true nature of the transactions they are conducting and the Internet gambling websites that use these payment processors will be prosecuted and brought to justice."
The defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, violations of the wire-wager act and money laundering.
US authorities are also seeking forfeiture of 150 million dollars as well as real estate, vehicles and funds in numerous bank accounts.
Investigators said the scheme "purposefully misclassified credit card transactions to fool banks into processing Internet gambling charges" and thus allowed bettors in the US to spend money on the gambling websites.
According to the indictment, the funds were wired through Western Union to people in the Philippines who were associated with the defendants and then transferred back to the gaming sites through a service the operators called "the Gateway."
Some of the charges carry criminal penalties of up to 30 years in prison.
The individuals charged in the indictment are seven people from Las Vegas identified as Baron Lombardo, 46; Richard Carson-Selman, 51; Henry Bankey, 49; Francisco Lombardo, 52; Count Lombardo, 43; Tina Hill, 32; and Kimberlie Lombardo, 43.