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Vegas betting expert sentenced to 18 months in prison

2 October 2015

By Jeff German
A Las Vegas betting expert was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for running an illegal gambling operation and hiding money from the IRS.

Tony Chau, 32, a Vietnamese immigrant who marketed an online wagering system to customers across the country, also was ordered to pay $567,571 in restitution to the IRS and forfeit another $1.4 million to the government.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware also told Chau he would have to serve 200 hours of community service and stay out of the gambling business during three years of supervised release after prison.

Chau, who has until Nov. 30 to surrender, apologized for his actions and told Boulware he has lost everything.

"Your honor, I stand before you today a broken man," Chau said, acknowledging that he should have been more careful in his business dealings.

Boulware said Chau seemed like a "thoughtful and industrious" man and he hoped his talent and energy would be channeled to the right side of the law when he gets out of prison.

Chau operated the now-closed sportsbettingchamp.com website with help from offshore sportsbooks in Costa Rica and Panama, which do not have Nevada licenses, according to his May plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

He pleaded guilty to three charges: conducting an illegal gambling business, money laundering and making a false statement on a tax return.

Chau established his customer base through sale of his wagering system, and then referred customers to the offshore sportsbooks to set up betting accounts, according to the plea agreement. He received commissions from the sportsbooks on the gambling losses of the customers.

The IRS investigation revealed that Chau failed to report the $1.4 million he earned from the offshore sportsbooks on his tax returns between 2008 and 2011.

Chau started the illegal gambling business in 2007, while he lived in Massachusetts, and kept it going in 2008 after he moved to Las Vegas, authorities said.

Copyright GamingWire. All rights reserved.

 

Top Vegas sports bettor, family to pay $4.2M forfeiture

29 July 2015
Leading Las Vegas sports bettor Glen Cobb was sentenced to one year of probation Tuesday for his role in what federal prosecutors alleged was a multimillion-dollar illegal gambling operation. His 83-year-old parents, Charles and Anna Cobb, and his stepdaughter Monica Namnard, 32, were allowed to walk out of ... (read more)
 

Poker player and illegal bookmaking target Paul Phua has left the country

3 June 2015
It didn’t take Paul Phua long to leave the country. His defense lawyers said he departed the Signature executive terminal at McCarran International Airport for an unknown destination at about 4 p.m. Monday, just five hours after a federal judge dismissed conspiracy and illegal gambling charges against him. ... (read more)
 

Federal judge dismisses charges of conspiracy, illegal gambling in Phua case

2 June 2015
A federal judge Monday dismissed conspiracy and illegal gambling charges against wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phua after prosecutors admitted their case had collapsed. Prosecutors fought the dismissal in court, but U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon said it was the proper decision after prosecutors told him they no longer had enough evidence to present at trial. ... (read more)

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Malaysian businessman pleads not guilty in new gambling case

Wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phua pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday to felony charges contained in a new gambling indictment against him.The indictment added a conspiracy charge to previous counts of operating an illegal gambling business and transmission of wagering information.The charges ... (read more)
 

Feds obtain new gambling indictment against Malaysian businessman

Undaunted by a judicial order tossing out key evidence, federal prosecutors on Wednesday obtained a new indictment in their illegal gambling case against wealthy Malaysian businessman Paul Phua.The new indictment adds a conspiracy charge against Phua to the previous felony counts of operating an illegal ... (read more)
 

Federal judge declares FBI ruse violated gambler's privacy rights

A federal judge ruled Friday that FBI agents violated a wealthy Malaysian businessman’s privacy rights when they entered his Caesars Palace villa posing as repairmen to secretly gather evidence before conducting a raid in an international sports betting investigation.U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon also ... (read more)
 

Four plead guilty in federal case targeting illegal sports bets

Sports bettor Glen Cobb and his family pleaded guilty Monday in a long-running investigation of a multimillion-dollar illegal gambling operation.Cobb, 50, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor accessory after the fact to the crime of transmission of wagering information. His parents, Charles and Anna ... (read more)
 

Four to plead guilty in illegal Vegas sports betting case, forfeit $4.3 million

A top Las Vegas sports bettor and his family have struck deals with the government to plead guilty in a long-running investigation of a multimillion-dollar illegal betting operation.Glen Cobb has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of the misdemeanor accessory after the fact to the crime of transmission of wagering information. ... (read more)