A guitly plea from Ryan Lang
I’m guilty

An online poker middle man pleas guilty to New York City court

Ryan Lang, a Canadian citizen had pleaded guilty in a New York City court this week, claiming he was a middleman between several online poker companies and brokers, who together tricked banks into providing money for gambling companies, according to recent casino gambling news.

Pleading guilty to US conspiracy charges, his plea was part of an investigation that concludes the saga involving the shutting down of Absolute Poker and Full Tilt Poker, the biggest US gambling services offering online poker to gamers.

For over three and half years, starting in 2007, Mr. Lang claimed that his Casino Strategy helped poker companies avoid US laws, currently in place, to stop banks from processing online gambling transactions. Mr. Lang claims he operated from Canada, where the laws don’t apply, and that he helped financial brokers, who operated with false companies and statements, negotiated with banks and deceived them into processing illegal transactions.

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud, and the violation of the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act, accepting funds in connection with internet gambling and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Mr. Lang issued the following statement: “I wish to publicly apologize to anyone I’ve harmed by my conduct.”

In the United States it is forbidden for gambling companies to accept payment from anyone currently considered to be participating in unlawful internet gambling. Mr. Lang could be sentenced to a maximum of thirty years, once the hearings commence in September.

Last year the aforementioned online poker sites, were prosecuted and shut down following an investigation into the crime. A total of 76 bank accounts in over 14 countries were also being investigated and found themselves instigated into the operation. The case is far from over though, with sentencing of several more defendants due to take place soon, and some still awaiting trial in what has proved to be a rather high profile case for the online gambling industry.