Executive charged in online poker crackdown turns himself in
Bradley Franzen, one of 11 executives charged in a crackdown against the three largest online poker sites open to U.S. players, has pleaded not guilty.
Franzen, 41 and from Illinois, was released on $200,000 in bail after turning himself in to the FBI on Monday in New York.
The 11 executives — three of whom were the respective founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker — were charged Friday with bank fraud, money laundering and violating gambling laws. The government also sought to recover $3 billion from the companies.
Federal prosecutors charged Franzen with nine counts, alleging that he created fake companies and websites to disguise payments to the three poker companies, conspired to violate the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, engaged in money laundering, and conspired to commit bank and wire fraud.
The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.
