Months back we wrote about Michael Olaf Schuett who was accused of illegally processing around $70 million worth of online poker winnings between November 2007 and March this year. He’s been sent back to Lee County jail, Florida after increasing concerns that he may try fleeing the country.

Schuett who has been facing a jail sentence of 5 years was bailed out by by his wife of 9 months Jennifer Sherman with a bail of $100,000. However, its been believes that she’s largely responsible for his re incarceration after she became concerned he may try to flee and she would lose the money.

According to documents surrounding the case, Sherman “indicated she was in fear, was afraid her husband was going to flee, and wished to be removed from the defendant’s bond.” His wife was responsible for paying the cash if Scheutt fled the country.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, a Schuett’s lawyer argued that Schuett had shown “substantial and exemplary” behavior while assisting federal investigators and should remain free on a bond, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Polster Chappell was of a different opinion.

The judge stated, that the accused has “no employment ties, no familiar ties, is not a US citizen, and sought information to obtain a pilot’s license’. She ordered him back to Lee County Jail.

Federal agents seized $2.47 million from a number of bank accounts, $10,000 cash found in Schütt’s home, cars and jewelry.

Anna Chapman, one of the ten persons who were detained by the US authorities on Monday morning as Russian spies, is apparently an Internet entrepreneur who went on a mission to seek for Moscow based investors to start an online poker site, one such as PokerTime. (Which is us, in case you don’t know where you are?)

Chapman, a 28 year old lady living in Manhattan, NYU, was arrested on Monday morning for using her social connections to feed secret information to the Russian Government. A friend of hers in Moscow downplayed his connection to Chapman on the Fox News website. Alexander Galtsky, the managing partner of a Russian investment firm denied any connection to Chapman, but he did say there was an interest from her side to start an online poker company.

While online poker is not specifically illegal in the USA, and is legal in numerous countries around the planet, Galtsky did not specifically say where Chapman wanted to start up her online poker site and where she wanted to operate.

"She tried to raise capital for her online real estate business,” the Russian investor stated in an email. "After this she tried to speak about some other initiative like online poker, but this is out of our policy."

Chapman has been acknowledged as the head of an online real estate website that might be the front of an information collection device. A real estate acquaintance said she absolutely knew nothing about the real estate market.

In accordance with her arrest by the FBI, she’s been accused of flirting and using her social connections to make friends with national security personnel, Congressional counsel, military scientists, and political fundraisers at the highest level. She has been accused of been instructed by Russian operatives to gather information on the policies and goals of the current Obama administrations in the upcoming G20 in Canada.

I think this case might be one big bluff.

                                                Schuett at work

Micheal Olaf Schuett, A German citizen, has been caught by the FBI for laundering over $70 million in online poker funding. The FBI claims that Schuett has been active money laundering for around a couple of years and has helped over 23,000 poker players – A majority of them being US citizens who adore poker.

The 29year old German worked as a middleman between US poker players and poker sites offshore. He would receive payment from these sites and then distribute these checks to US players when they withdrew their winnings. Quite a smart operation if I say so..

The FBI was tipped off that Schuett was sending over 50 parcels to different US cities and states every day and once these parcels were opened, multiple checks were found inside. Schuett was tattletale’d on by Federal Express. ““Federal Express employees became suspicious of Schuett’s activity when Schuett began mailing over 150 parcels per week.” The mail service employees opened several of the parcels and found that each parcel contained a check.

The FBI reported that they locked over $2 million USD in cash in several leading banks. The German is being accused of opening of up to 40 accounts at banks such as Bank America, for use in his money laundering scheme. Judges has requested that the banks holding his funs keep the accounts locked pending future investigation.

Schuett is now being held at the Lee County jail without bond. Agents are executing search warrants to seize computers and several assets that were purchased with the funds earned by his alleged illegal online gambling operations.

Its come down to this final point. If online poker was regulated and legalized, the millions of poker players currently playing and living in the United States would not need to go through the services supplied by Schuett to get their money that they rightfully earned.

    Bandit Pensioners will have to resort to other more ‘wholesome’ activities now

It seems that pensioners are naughtier than we thought. Either that or the Idaho police department are really bored. A group of pensioners were recently targeted for illegal poker games in the American state.

After receiving an anonymous tip-off that pensioners were engaging in the illegal activity of playing poker, Idaho Police started monitoring the activities of the Twin Falls Senior Centre where pensioners were meeting to play every week.

The police proceeded to raid the Senior Centre during a poker game, where about 20 pensioners were playing for a buy in of $20. Idaho law enforcement does not tolerate cash gambling of any kind, and it seems this includes friendly poker games played by pensioners in senior centres.

The group of pensioners, who all made regular donations to the centre, said they were unaware of breaking any laws. They have now started to play without wagering any cash

88-year-old Doris Williams, a regular player told the Times-News newspaper, “(we’ve) been playing the legal way without money since the police visit but it isn’t as much fun.”

I thought I’d start a new segment of the blog with a couple of odd Poker stories which are flying around the net.

Issue 1: The Scot

Christopher Proudfoot, a UK poker fiend (literally) is facing jail time for trying to embezzle 936, 0000 pounds! He tried to steal this from his firm – for guess what? Online poker!

The gentleman lost this amount of cash over a 3 year period playing over at another poker room which caters to mostly European clients. In this case the prosecutor explained that Proudfoot has lost all of the funds and has no way of paying it back.

So let’s get into the logistics of this all: How do you steal that much money from your workplace?

1.  Proudfoot was the finance and credit controller at the company meaning he had access to the company’s books and therefore altered them. Like any good accountant – he was quite skilled in the art of deception. Some might say like a ninja.

2. About a year ago the company suspected Proudfoot was up to no good. Someone was making trouble in their neighbourhood. The promptly called the police, fired him. And starting going through the books.

3. They deduced that Proudfoot has stolen nearly a million pounds from the company over a three year period.

4. Proudfoot fled his parents home (Gosh) and went into hiding. Unlike his accounting skills he was caught quite quickly afterwards.

Christopher Proudfoot has now admitted to stealing the money, and is bracing himself for a substantial prison sentence. He is currently out on bail (and hopefully not playing online poker).