The Queensland Australia businessman Daniel Tzvetkoff who became a key informant in the U.S. Department of Justice’s case against online gambling operators illegally operating in the U.S. is seeking a reduced prison term.
Tzvetkoff faced a 75-year sentence in a federal jail when he was arrested in Las Vegas in 2010 for illegally processing more than $1 billion.
But Tzvetkoff gave more than 90,000 documents to U.S. prosecutors that helped in the DOJ’s case against officials at three of the world’s biggest gambling companies – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.
He was released from a New York prison four months after his arrest and later pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money-laundering charges. He has recently been living in Australia.
Tzvetkoff along with his parents and mother-in-law, have made a plea to the court ahead of his sentencing for leniency, according to a report by news.com/au.
A probation report in the case recommends a sentence of between six and 12 months for Tzvetkoff.
His lawyer, Robert Goldstein, said Tzvetkoff could probably avoid further jail time and be sentenced to the four months he has already served.
“For a first-time offender who has never before experienced prison, four-plus months inside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn constitutes a harsh and significant punishment,’’ Goldstein wrote in his sentencing submission. “The reality is that even one day in those type of conditions can be exceedingly harsh punishment for a first-time offender like Mr. Tzvetkoff.’’
Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate of PokerStars, Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick of Full Tilt Poker, and Scott Tom and Brent Beckley of Absolute Poker were all charged with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offenses as a result of the case.
Tzvetkoff made millions through his Queensland-based financial processing company Intabill, which processed transactions between U.S. gamblers and illegal internet gambling companies.
In 2009, however, the internet poker companies accused him of stealing about $100 million. He was arrested in April 2010 in Las Vegas.
