US and Texas poker processing firm reach $6m settlement
Company claims it did not know players' payments to company 50% owned by Ryan Lang went to online poker firms.
A Texas firm has agreed to forfeit more than US$6.27m of money tied to illegal online gambling in a settlement with federal prosecutors.
LST Financial told FBI agents it was not aware the payments it processed for a company 50% owned by Ryan Lang, a Black Friday indictee who pleaded guilty to violation of UIGEA in February, were related to three online poker companies.
The US government will now return to LST an unspecified amount of frozen funds not related to illegal gambling.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Michael Bachner, a lawyer for LST, said: “LST is gratified that the government agreed to return assets unrelated to the PokerStars activities.”
LST and managing director Gregory Colton also promised “not to knowingly provide, either directly or indirectly, payment processing services for Internet gambling, including Internet poker,” according to papers filed in a Manhattan federal court yesterday.
Lang has admitted he helped PokerStars and other online companies secretly process payments from players and will be sentenced on 24 September, when he could face up to 30 years in prison. He is one of six indicted individuals to enter a guilty plea with only one, John Campos, being sentenced so far.
Ray Bitar, CEO of Full Tilt Poker, was released on bail earlier this week and has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including violations of UIGEA.