Poker Funds Seizures: Second Motion to Intervene Filed

Costigan Media, parent company of Gambling911.com, announced early Friday morning its intention to file a second Motion to Intervene in having a seizure warrant unsealed as part of its First Amendment rights to do so.  The warrant in question is related to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorneys office in the Southern District of New York into payment processors associated with Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Arlo Devlin Brown, has notified at least one bank that the funds in question could be used for purposes of money laundering.   Gambling911.com has attempted to have the warrants and other court documents associated with the case unsealed in order that it may report on the scope of the investigation. 

The initial seizure warrants were issued on June 2, resulting in the freezing of over $30 million in funds belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.  The Poker Players Alliance, a grass roots organization representing over a million poker players, has insisted the funds in question belong to them since PokerStars and Full Tilt are both members of the group.  Devlin-Brown claims the PPA lacks standing and filed another seizure warrant on June 24 despite sources close to the Poker Players Alliance claiming he had agreed to notify the group before taking any such additional actions. 

Gambling911.com's legal counsel believes that the Assistant U.S. Attorney might be obligated to note such a conversation and this would be disclosed only after the unsealing of the June 24 seizure warrant and other related court documents.   The media outlet is represented by Baruch Weiss, who formerly served as the assistant general counsel for enforcement at the Treasury Department and the acting deputy general counsel at Homeland Security.

A response to the Costigan Media/Gambling911.com Motion to Intervene by the Government was anticipated between July 16 and 20.

Gambling911.com is a respected electronic media outlet that has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes Magazine, The Miami Herald, Fast Company and several dozen other noteworthy publications.  Gambling911 founder and publisher, Christopher Costigan, has appeared on Fox News, ABC News, CNBC and even the Weather Channel.