PokerStars сo-founder surrendered to US authorities
In the United States, online poker is still recovering after Black Friday in 2011, when the activities of all poker rooms were prohibited.
The founder of PokerStars Isai Scheinberg was charged with fraud because he provided an opportunity to play online poker, despite the amendments in 2006 that prohibited such activities in the US.
Isai tried to make a deal with local law enforcement agencies in order to swallow up Full Tilt and get the opportunity to recoup all players, and thereby, to avoid the prohibition in America. However, the case dragged on for 9 years and Scheinberg remained outside the United States in order to avoid arrest.
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However, it became known about the new turn in this matter. The US government launched the extradition procedure of Isai from Switzerland. Initially, Scheinberg resisted the process, but soon he started negotiations with the American authorities.
As a result of negotiations, the 73-year-old founder of PokerStars arrived in the United States on 17 January in order to stand trial. On the same day, the court found him not guilty on three charges and released Isai on $1 000 000 bail.
Although Scheinberg decided to surrender to the US authorities, this is unlikely to lead to his imprisonment. According to the words of local federal prosecutor, they reached “agreement in principle” in this matter.
