Poker Payment Processor Held in Contempt of Court
Written by Matt W | Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Douglas Rennick, the Canadian citizen who is accused of processing payments for online poker rooms and casino rooms – an act currently deemed illegal under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act – has been held in contempt of court. Rennick is accused of refusing to comply with a grand jury subpoena.
Rennick’s companies, Account Services Corp and KJB Financial Corp, of which he is sole shareholder, officer and employee, have been tirelessly pursued by US authorities seeking to put a halt to online poker playing in the country. The companies, as well as other payment processors, have been continuously targeted by the authorities who are frustrated that they cannot get their hands on offshore poker rooms.
Rennick was caught by the authorities and charged under three accounts: Conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling company; conspiracy to engage in money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The contempt of court charge came after Rennick would not agree to comply with the subpoena issued by the grand jury. The payment processor’s attorneys argued that this would violate their client’s rights under the Fifth Amendment where he is protected against self incrimination.
However, the three-judge panel disagreed and ruled: “Although the long-established ‘collective entity rule’ prevents corporations from availing themselves of the Fifth Amendment privilege, the companies contend that the Supreme Court’s decision in Braswell v. United States compels us to carve out an exception for one-person corporations.”
According to the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan, Rennick opened a number of bank accounts in the country between 2007 and 2009, with the express purpose of receiving funds from offshore poker rooms. He is charged with not revealing the true nature of these bank accounts to the authorities.
These funds were then disbursed to the accounts of US poker players. Authorities say that over $350 million was transferred from a Cyprus bank account to the United States.
If found guilty, Rennick could face as much as 30 years in prison.
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· Written by Matt W · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
