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One of those indicted as part of the so-called “Black Friday” online poker indictments of April 15, 2011 has been released from prison after serving nearly one year.
UB.com, Absolute Poker founder Brent Beckley had pleaded guilty to money laundering and bank fraud and was originally sentenced to 14 months behind bars. He was released this past Thursday, having served approximately 10 months. Bentley’s mom videotaped the release.
Beckley, 32, joined Costa Rica-based Absolute Poker in 2003 and became its head of payment processing. In December 2011, he pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to break U.S. laws against gambling on the Internet. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Beckley deserved prison time despite his surrender and cooperation because "the sentence has to make clear that the government of the United States means business in these types of cases."
"I fooled myself into thinking that what I was doing was OK," Beckley told the judge.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com
