Ira Rubin, one of the leading figures in last year’s Black Friday indictments, has pleaded guilty to a trio of conspiracy charges. Each of these deals with his involvement with illegal payment processing.
According to several reports, Rubin’s actions allowed the transfer of billions of dollars in online gambling funds. The process, says iGaming Business, set up transmissions through phoney purchasing agreements, in effect deceiving American banks. The bankroll buy-ins of US players were recorded as purchases through non-existent companies, appearing as retail transactions for jewelry and other items. This, of course, is in violation of federal law, which brought the government down hard on Rubin.
Several others members of the gaming community were indicted during the Black Friday purges. Men such as Ray Bitar (Full Tilt Poker), Isai Scheinberg (PokerStars), and Brent Buckley (Absolute Poker) each have been sought out by members of the law enforcement community.
Rubin, for his part, was nabbed by the authorities in Guatemala just days after Black Friday. The 53 year-old was scheduled to board a flight for Thailand before being detained and extradited. Once he returned to American soil, Rubin found himself facing nine counts of illegal payment processing. He has since signed a plea bargain, which should reduce his time spent behind bars.
Rubin, however, is not the first man to plead guilty to Black Friday charges. Absolute Poker’s aforementioned Brent Buckley made a similar decision this past December, admitting that he had knowingly and willfully broken the law by allowing American banks to handle gambling money. Buckley is now awaiting a sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for this April. Sentencing has yet to be handed down for Rubin, though it is expected that he will serve between 18 and 24 months in prison.