Richard Hartunian Said, “In illegal gambling, money is both the way the crime is committed and the reason for committing it.”
Albany-area sheriff’s departments recently collaborated to take down a $1 billion international gambling ring. Since the ring was busted, several of the law enforcement agencies involved received nice boosts to their budgets from the forfeited criminal assets in the case. In all, $5.9 million was given away by the court system to the law enforcement agencies, to help them cover costs and expand operations.
Albany County Sheriff’s Department received the lion’s share of the assets. Albany, whose investigators began the case which led to one of the biggest crackdowns in the history of Internet gambling, received $4.66 million of the funds. The money will be used for law enforcement purposes, as per federal laws.
Richard Hartunian Explains
US Attorney Richard Hartunian gave a press conference on Wednesday of this week in which he described how the forfeitures would be distributed. In all, the agencies collected $9.6 million in forfeitures. That money was distributed to six law enforcement agencies in all, including district attorney’s offices, sheriff’s departments, IRS offices, and the FBI.
The Albany County District Attorney’s Office received $862,468. The Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office received $363,833. The Broward County Sheriff’s Department (in South Florida) received an additional $104,946.
IRS and FBI Receive Funds
Besides the four county-level agencies which received cash, two federal agencies received money for their work on the case. The Internal Revenue Service received $1.6 million, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation collected another $1.9 million.
When asked about the distribution system, Hartunian philosophized about the distribution of money.
This Wednesday, he told reporters, “In illegal gambling, money is both the way the crime is committed and the reason for committing it. Equitable sharing redirects these illegal proceeds toward the local law enforcement agencies who work with their federal counterparts and United States attorneys to dismantle large-scale criminal enterprises like this one.”
April 2013 Arrests
The Albany-area gambling ring investigation broke wide open in April 2013, when 40 people were arrested for helping to run the billion-dollar criminal ring. Some were charged with money laundering, while others were charged with wire fraud. The money was collected from sports gamblers, then wagered at offshore websites. In this way, the money was laundered.
The investigation began in Albany with inquiries into the activities of Albany County jail officers. From there, it began to focus on a web of illegal gambling activities which took place in Oklahoma, Boston, and Miami. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department got warrants to listen into phone conversations and investigate email accounts. Eventually, the eavesdropped on tens of thousands of phone calls, emails, and Internet communications.
Legendz Sports in Oklahoma
The biggest busts in the case happened in Oklahoma, at an illegal gambling ring branded Legendz Sports. Legendz Sports used an elaborate system to hide money, eventually amassing hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten assets in bank accounts ranging from Caribbean islands to Texas.
Due to the complicated jurisdictional requirements and a monetary system which took 10 years to build, it took a long time for investigators and prosecutors to complete the work needed to bring trials in the case. Though the original bust was 25 months ago, the main figure in the case just now finished their criminal trial. He was convicted on multiple counts.
Luke King Convicted in the Case
Bartice Alan “Luke” King, 44, of Spring, Texas, was the head of the Legendz Sports crime ring. Mr. King was described as the CEO and President of Legendz Sports, which worked as an Internet and telephone gambling enterprise from 2003 to 2013. The operation was based in Panama City, Panama.
Over the course of ten years, Luke King collected in excess of $1 billion in wagers. He was convicted on April 30, 2015 of engaging in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and conducting an illegal gambling business. U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats of the Western District of Oklahoma and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Justice Department were the prosecutors in the case.
No Sentence Given Yet
A sentencing hearing has yet to be set in the case. While Luke King is likely to get the largest sentence of all the offenders, 59 people were arrested in all and many of them are likely to receive prison sentences or fines.
