Poker Money Processor Folds His Cards in Black Friday Game

Indicted Elie agrees to forfeit his plea with more than $25 million A former e-cash processor Chad Elie (32), arrested for the Black Friday indictments against online poker sites, unexpectedly changed his mind on Monday and pleaded guilty in a New York court prior to appearing on April 9. Australian e-processor Daniel Tzvetkoff would give evidence for the state and may have been a contributing factor in Elie's decision. Elie could face six to twelve months' imprisonment when on October 3 the sentencing gets handed down. In the meantime he remains at liberty on a $250,000 bail which fortified his plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Goldstein told the court Elie also agreed to forfeit it with $500,000 he earned as a result of the scheme, along with his interest in more than $25 million held in various payment processing accounts. Former bank executive John Campos, and Elie were the only Black Friday defendants headed to trial among eleven others charged who either reached a plea or remained fugitives. After Elie' plea, Campos is now standing alone but federal prosecutors are indicating their discussions with his lawyers and will know by Wednesday if he will go to trial. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan successfully pressed Elie to admit that his conduct was wrong and that he served as a “payment processor” for the poker companies named on Black Friday, and lied to U.S. banks about the nature of the financial transactions they were processing. According to legal observers Elie's capitulation is one of the most significant legal developments in the Black Friday prosecutions since federal prosecutors cracked down a year ago on Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker and Cereus. The trial scheduled for April 9 is widely seen as a test case for former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement that may have wide-reaching consequences as well as impact the government's case against other Black Friday defendants.