Former PokerStars Exec Paul Tate Reaches Plea Deal With U.S.

Sat, Oct 22, 2016

According to reports, Paul Tate, former PokerStars director of payments, has reached a plea deal stemming from the 2011 shut down of international online poker sites in the U.S. Tate is one of three people still under indictment from the shutdown. Tate is expected to plead guilty and was originally charged with five counts related to unlawful gambling.

The ninth of 11 defendants charged in the “Black Friday” shutdown by the U.S. of illegal online poker sites has agreed to a plea deal, according to reports.

Paul Tate, PokerStars former director of payments, has agreed to plead guilty in the case, Reuters reports.

Tate held the position when PokerStars was part of the Rational Group, the company co-founded by father and son Isai and Mark Scheinberg. In 2014, PokerStars and all related entities were sold to Canada-based Amaya Gaming.

In 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York moved to shut down offshore sites violating the U.S. Unlawful Internet Gaming Act, including PokerStars. The move resulted in 11 individuals being indicted for unlawful gaming charges. With Tate’s plea deal, nine of those defendants will have settled their case.

Two others remain outside of US jurisdiction, though one of those, Isai Scheinberg, has been rumored to have been also negotiating a plea deal, according to a report in Flushdraw.net. The other remaining Black Friday defendant is former Absolute Poker president Scott Tom, who Flushdraw reports was last seen in Antigua.

According to Reuters, Tate signed an appearance bond in July and put up $1,000,000 while traveling to New York City. Tate has also agreed to surrender his passport and related travel documents until a sentencing hearing in mid-November. Tate was originally named on five counts in the Black Friday indictment including:

  • Conspiracy to Violate Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
  • Violation of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) -PokerStars
  • Operation of Illegal Gambling Business – PokerStars
  • Commit Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud
  • Money Laundering Conspiracy

Possible fines and prison terms on those charges varied from five to 20 years in prison, with fines as high as $1,000,000. However, the plea deals involving other defendants have generally involved more lenient terms, Flushdraw reported.

Tate is believed to be pleading guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business. The possible penalty as announced on that charge reads as “Five years in prison; fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss; three years of supervised release; forfeiture of proceeds of offense,” Flushdraw reported.