The US Department of Justice have Indicted key individuals connected with the three largest US facing online poker operators... Full Tilt, PokerStars and Absolute Poker.
The Indictments were unsealed Friday morning, naming 11 defendants including Full Tilt's Nelson Burtnick and Raymond Bita, PokerStar's Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate, Absolute Poker's Scott Tom and Brent Beckley.
Also named is John Campos from SunFirst Bank, a small private bank in Saint George, Utah which processed poker transactions.
According to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, the defendants "concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits."
The DOJ and FBI have seized 5 domains, frozen funds in 76 bank accounts in 14 countries and sought $3 billion in money laundering penalties.
Mixed reports are filtering in at various forums from US (and non US) poker players as to whether they are currently able to access their playing accounts at either Full Tilt, PokerStars or Absolute Poker.
Additional fallout from the Indictments has been the termination by Wynn Resorts of their partnership arrangement with PokerStars. The partnership was announced only weeks ago.
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