Australian charged with laundering $500,000,000

[Mousey]

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The Associated Press

Friday, April 16, 2010 | 3:46 p.m.

An Australian man has been arrested in Las Vegas on charges that he helped U.S. gamblers and Internet gambling Web sites launder $500 million in gambling proceeds.

Daniel Tzvetkoff (TSVEHT'-cawf) was arrested early Friday for bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and other charges that carry a potential penalty of 75 years in prison.

Prosecutors said the 27-year-old defendant in 2008 began disguising transactions to banks on behalf of gamblers so they would appear unrelated to gambling. They said he bragged in an e-mail that his system was "all perfect!" It was ....

(italics mine)

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UPDATE ADDED AUGUST 2011 FOR COMPLETENESS:

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Bankrupt and living in FBI witness protection in New York with his fiancee and two small children, he's accused of committing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraud on both sides of the Pacific. To save his skin he's ratted on his former Las Vegas business partners in an audacious move that could bring down the world's biggest online poker sites

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[jod5413]

I am sure he wasn't laundering money. He was helping the US players deposit and withdraw. Earned money for play is not laundering money, earned winnings transfered back to the player is not laundering money. I feel bad for this guy. He is trying to earn a living, but he also is allowing us to play.

When in Gawd's name is the US government going to figure this out? I am afraid he will be used as an example to show that online gamblers are the bad guy.

I am totally disgusted with my government over online gambling. We need regulation, but in the meantime, we are at the mercy of the the government and the folks who handle our transactions.

 

[Mousey]

I am sure he wasn't laundering money. He was helping the US players deposit and withdraw. Earned money for play is not laundering money, earned winnings transfered back to the player is not laundering money. I feel bad for this guy. He is trying to earn a living, but he also is allowing us to play.

When in Gawd's name is the US government going to figure this out? I am afraid he will be used as an example to show that online gamblers are the bad guy.

I am totally disgusted with my government over online gambling. We need regulation, but in the meantime, we are at the mercy of the the government and the folks who handle our transactions.

I was feeling sorry for the guy, too.... but now I'm not so sure...

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... Tzvetkoff ceased processing online gambling transactions in March 2009, after he was accused by several Internet gambling Web sites of stealing about $100 million in gambling pay-ins from U.S. bank accounts, prosecutors said.

Edited to add:

For even more 'fun' reading... google "Daniel Tzvetkoff"

 

[same_old]

I dunno how they can get away with so much of this stuff in AUS- we are governed and regulated by the Australian Government abd i know for a fact thy keep a close eye on this stuff, especially money laundering.

 

[jetset]

This young whizz-kid, who lived a playboy lifestyle and ran processing companies for online casinos, was at the centre of a major online gambling industry uproar in 2008 which you will find covered extensively in Casinomeister News archives.

His companies went to the wall and as far as I can recall he lost the expensive cars and luxury home as industry companies sued him.

I wonder what possessed him to travel to the USA, given his background - that would be asking for trouble

 

[jod5413]

I also wonder what possessed him to travel to the USA, given his background - that would be asking for trouble

I would guess "large ego" along with a sense of entitlement that got him caught. Damn, this industry is never going to look good if these kinds of people are involved.

 

[felicie]

The USA seems the perfect place with our now you see them now you don't deposit options.

 

[same_old]

Adding further to the original post,

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There is a picture of him in that article

AN Australian man was arrested in Las Vegas and charged today for allegedly laundering $US500 million ($540 million) in online gambling proceeds, prosecutors from the US Attorney's office said in a statement.

Daniel Tzvetkoff, 27, faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison if convicted on four counts including bank fraud, money laundering, gambling conspiracy and processing electronic funds illegally.

Between February 2008 and March 2009, Tzvetkoff's company Intabill allegedly processed more than $540 million in transactions between US gamblers and internet gambling websites, disguising transactions to the banks so they would appear unrelated to gambling.

Tzvetkoff then arranged for the funds to be wired offshore for the benefit of the gambling companies.

"This is all perfect!" Tzvetkoff wrote in an email to a co-conspirator.

But in March 2009, he stopped processing the transactions after leading internet gambling websites accused him of stealing about $100 million from them.

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"At this stage of the game, it's difficult to know exactly what type of evidence is out there. The allegations are certainly fantastic," Mr Tzvetkoff's lawyer Mace Yampolsky told Dow Jones Newswires.

"They are only allegations. I can't comment any further on the veracity of them."