Online Payment Processor Pleads Guilty in Black Friday Indictments

Ira Rubin, a payment processor who has resided in Costa Rica since 2008, pled guilty in a Manhattan Court to three charges relating to processing payments from online gambling activity that was illegally carried out in the US.

Rubin is the second man to plead guilty in less than a month to charges arising from indictments filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in April 2011 against 11 founders of online poker, casino and sports betting operators which defied US law and provided its residents with online gambling services.

A few weeks ago Brent Beckley, co-founder of Absolute Poker, has also pleaded guilty to several of the changes laid against him. It seems that both accused men, being connected to online poker, knew they were holding a losing hand and decided to fold it.

If Rubin’s lawyers would have been unable to reach the plea agreement, he would have faced nine separate criminal charges that carry a sentence of up to 55 years in prison. Now lawyers estimate that he will have to serve only 18 to 24 months in prison. Rubin is back in court on May 17th for sentencing when he will find out exactly how much time he will have to serve behind bars.

The events of Black Friday continue to have aftershocks that are still felt today, with some of the operators that were made to feel the wrath of the DoJ, unable to recover and have suspended all operations (Full Tilt Poker).

Online gambling industry insiders estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars belonging to US players are still frozen in bank accounts the DoJ froze back in April. It is highly doubtful if any guilty verdicts or incarcerations would do any good for the thousands of US players looked out of their player accounts and unable to withdraw their own money.