Online Poker Funds Remain Seized in Account Services Case

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, online poker funds seized by the Southern District of New York belonging to Account Services will remain under guard for what the newspaper claimed “could be years.”

On August 21st, a hearing was originally scheduled featuring lawyers for the online poker payment processor Account Services arguing why $14 million should be returned to the company. The funds were seized as part of a June raid by the Southern District of New York and contained in Wells Fargo and Union Bank accounts in California. Account Services filed a motion for return of property in the Southern District of California and the case was assigned to Judge Jeffrey Miller. However, the hearing was later cancelled indefinitely.

On Saturday, the Union-Tribune published a story claiming that Miller “denied a bid Thursday by lawyers for the company, Account Services Inc., and the Poker Players Alliance to return the money. The players group is an advocacy organization that represents some 1 million online poker players.” It added, “Now, after Miller ruled against them, it could be years before they see any of the money.” The Southern District of New York in total seized well over $30 million, affecting more than 24,000 online poker players.

Paper checks and e-checks began bouncing in June, leading to concern on popular online poker forums about the security of player deposits. In many cases, the online poker sites, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, compensated players fully and oftentimes awarded a cash bonus for any inconvenience. The warrant to seize funds from the Union Bank accounts identified Full Tilt and PokerStars by name as clients of Account Services. The document read, “Account Services has previously provided payment services for companies providing online gambling services, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, the largest internet poker businesses in operation.”

The Wells Fargo account was used to pay online poker players in 2008 and 2009. Still redacted (crossed out) in the warrant application is evidence that led the Southern District of New York to finger PokerStars and Full Tilt in the first place.

Account Services’ Douglas Rennick was indicted earlier this month on bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling charges. He faces up to 55 years in jail and up to a $1.75 million fine plus forfeiture of funds obtained. The San Diego news outlet explains, “Prosecutors then argued the indictment made the San Diego lawsuit irrelevant and that Miller should not hear it. The judge agreed, saying the players could try to recover the money after the criminal case is resolved.”

Rennick is a Canadian citizen and, as of yet, has not surrendered to U.S. authorities. The indictment issued by the Southern District of New York revealed that Rennick had been in the business of processing internet gambling payments since 2007. Over $350 million was transferred from a bank account in Cyprus for this purpose and “Rennick… provided false and misleading information to various United States banks about, among other things, the nature of the internet gambling-related payments being processed by the companies under Rennick’s control in order to induce banks to engage in financial transactions that they otherwise would not have facilitated.”

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) filed an amicus brief on behalf of Account Services despite Rennick’s indictment. The 1.2 million member strong organization argued that poker is a game of skill and therefore not illegal gambling. Account Services added that funds in the Union Bank account were seized without a warrant, which was issued about a dozen days after the asset freeze took place. FBI Special Agent Dana Conte swore to both warrant applications.

Poker News Daily is seeking comment from the PPA and Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA).

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