Ira Rubin, charged with nine counts in relation to processing illegal payments for poker companies in connection with the Black Friday indictments, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday.
As a part of a plea agreement, Rubin plead guilty to three of the nine counts including “conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.”
The maximum prison sentence Rubin faces is 55 years, but the Stipulated Guideline Range set forth in the agreement is 18-24 months. Sentencing for Rubin is scheduled for May 17.
According to the indictment unsealed on April 15, 2011, Ruben “lied to banks about the nature of the financial transactions they were processing” and created “phony corporations and websites to disguise payments to the Poker Companies.”
Rubin is the latest person to plead guilty to charges stemming from processing illegal transactions for poker companies. Last month, Brent Beckley pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the UIGEA and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. He faces a maximum of 35 years in prison but prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 12 to 18 months. Beckly is scheduled to be sentenced on April 19, 2012.
In May, Bradley Franzen pled guilty to three counts including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and accepting funds in connection to the UIGEA. Those charges carry a maximum of 30 years imprisonment but a recommendation of a lesser sentence has been withheld and a sentencing hearing is not scheduled.
John Campos and Chad Elie were also arrested in connection with the Black Friday indictments but have decided to fight the charges.
