Judge Kaplan Sentences Ira Rubin to 3 Years in Prison

Judge Kaplan Sentences Ira Rubin to 3 Years in Prison July 27, 2012 July 27, 2012 Tim Glocks https://www.poker-online.com/author/tim
Posted on  Jul 27, 2012 | Updated on  Jul 27, 2012 by Tim Glocks

Lewis Kaplan, US District Judge, has sentenced Ira Rubin, who was accused of helping illegal online poker sites in the US process funds related to gambling, to three years imprisonment.

Referring to Ira Rubin’s long criminal history, the judge said that Rubin is “an unreformed con man and fraudster.” Although Rubin told the judge that he is finished with crime and wants to live life productively, the judge refused to believe him.

According to the US federal government, Rubin had a number of fake online companies, which he used for his money laundering activities. Since he presented illegal online poker funds as revenue generated by selling products and services online, US banks went ahead and processed billions of dollars in illegal poker money for top online poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and PokerStars.

The US federal law usually prescribes a sentence ranging from 18 months to 2 years for those found guilty of bank fraud and money laundering. But Judge Kaplan took into consideration Rubin’s criminal history and declared that Rubin deserves a longer sentence as he is in danger of getting back to his criminal ways once he is freed from prison. The judge further stated that he is sure that Rubin will device brand new criminal schemes to cheat society as soon as he gets out.

Rubin, who was arrested by US law-enforcement agencies in April 2011, has already been in prison for 15 months. He had pleaded guilty to bank fraud, illegal gambling, money laundering, and wire fraud in January, admitting that he had helped process illegal poker money for PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker.

According to the US government, Rubin’s criminal history dates back to the early seventies and he has been booked in Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Florida, Missouri, and Virginia. The government also pointed out that he has not yet paid $8 million in fines imposed on him when he was found guilty of telemarketing fraud.

Arlo Devlin Brown, assistant US attorney, said that Rubin is not likely to pay a $5 million fine, which is part of the sentence on him, because he has hidden some of his money in the form of gold bars and transferred $2 million to his Costa Rica bank account.

Rubin turned emotional several times in court, stating that he is 54 and tired of running and only wants to go back home to his family.

Tim GlocksAuthor

Tim Glocks is a retired professor, he currently contributes to Poker-Online.com. Tim enjoys playing poker and has taken it up as a hobby since his retirement. He has taken part in many online tournaments and has become a veteran in a short space of time. Visit Tim’s google + page here