English
Brent Buckley Pleads Guilty
April 15th 2011 will forever be remembered as Black Friday in the poker world. With that day came sweeping criminal indictments for executives of four of the biggest names in online poker: Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, Absolute Poker and UB.com. With the criminal charges filed and the domain names seized the entire poker industry was shaken to its core. Now, Absolute Poker co-founder, Brent Buckley is talking and has plead guilty to a conspiracy charge which means he has admitted that he and his business partners knew what they were doing was wrong.
Buckley explained to Magistrate Judge Ellis that he knew it wasn’t legal to deceive the banks the way they did by using phony business names and other ways to get around the UIGEA. By pleading guilty and taking a plea deal drawn up by the prosecution Buckley will only receive a sentence of one to one and a half years in a federal prison. Sentencing is set for April 19th 2012; pretty close to the anniversary of “Black Friday”.
He continued to tell the courts that the crimes began in 2006, not too long after the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act went into effect. The crimes went on for almost five years in total and amounted up to millions and millions of dollars in fraudulent transactions which led to the indictment on April 15th.
Absolute Poker is just one of the rooms that was hurt by the scandal and the effect is still trickling down to the poker and even online casino industry today. There hasn’t been much news regarding the other rooms that were named in the indictment. UB.com (Ultimate Bet) is owned by the same company behind Absolute, making them almost one in the same. Full Tilt Poker ultimately closed their doors. PokerStars is the only one which seems to still be thriving.
Keep an eye on the latest news and developments regarding Black Friday, including sentencing updates and up to date information by checking back often at World Poker Directory.
April 15th 2011 will forever be remembered as Black Friday in the poker world and with that day came a sweeping criminal indictment on four of the biggest names in online poker, PokerStars, Tilt, Absolute and UB.com. With the criminal files charged and the domains seized for a number of criminal reasons the whole industry was shaken to its core. Fast forward a few months later to December and Absolute Pokers co-founder, Brent Buckley, is finally talking and has plead guilty to a conspiracy charge which meant he and his business partners knew what their business was doing was wrong.
Buckley explained to Magistrate Judge Ellis that he knew it wasn’t legal to deceive the banks the way they did by using phony business names and other ways to get around the UIGEA. By pleading guilty and taking a plea deal drawn up by the prosecution Buckley will only receive a sentence of one to one and a half years in a federal prison. Sentencing is set for April 19th 2012; pretty close to the anniversary of “Black Friday”.
He continued to tell the courts that the crimes began in 2006, not too long after the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act went into effect. The crimes went on for almost five years in total and amounted up to millions and millions of dollars in fraudulent transactions; leading to the indictment on April 15th.
Absolute Poker is just one of the rooms that were hurt by the scandal and the trickle-down is still affecting the online gaming and poker industry today. There hasn’t been much news regarding the other rooms that were named in the indictment with the exception of Full Tilt whom ultimately closed their doors. PokerStars seems to be thriving more than ever and UB.com is owned by the same company behind Absolute, making them almost one in the same.
Keep an eye on our site for the latest news and developments regarding Black Friday, including sentencing updates and day to day information.
