Tzvetkoff Might Get Lucky After All
Daniel Tzvetkoff might have been the only man smiling today over the guilty plea entered by fellow online poker payment processor Douglas Rennick. That's because Tzvetkoff is essentially accused of the same crime: money laundering related to various online poker rooms. And while Tzvetkoff has been told he could face up to 75 years in prison, Rennick is looking at serving a mere 12 months, and that is max.
Douglas Rennick, 35, of Alberta, entered his guilty plea today (May 11, 2010) in federal court in New York. Michael Pancer, a lawyer for Rennick, said in court that his client agreed to forfeit $17.1 million.
The government originally charged Rennick with conspiring to commit bank fraud, money laundering and engaging in illegal gambling, and could have ordered him to forfeit $565.9 million, court records show.
Prosecutors in the Tzvetkoff case believe that Daniel has millions of dollars stashed away in Caribbean tax havens as well as Switzerland.
With the reduced sentence for Rennick, it appears the US Government is after a much bigger animal, quite possibly the two largest online poker rooms: PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
Both Rennick and Tzvetkoff are citizens of other countries, Canada and Australia, Respectively. Rennick was not taken into custody. Tzvetkoff was detained in Las Vegas while attending a conference. He was denied bail and must remain in a US prison.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
