US poker pro Justin ‘Boosted’ Smith will be relieved to have escaped with a relatively light sentence after pleading guilty to involvement in the sensational New York ‘art dealer’ gambling ring bust last year.
Although originally charged with three offences, Smith was allowed to plead on just one related to illegal gambling enterprise activity.
In pleading guilty, Smith joined two dozen other defendants who had been arrested in connection with the gambling ring and admitted to wrongdoing in deals with the prosecution.
Despite calls by the prosecution for a heavier punishment, Judge Jesse M. Furman exercised discretion this week, imposing a sentence of two years’ probation, three months of home confinement, a $500,000 fine, and 200 hours of community service.
Smith’s role in the now dismantled gambling ring was relatively minor; court documents reveal that he was used to create a number of online accounts at websites like HMS Sports and Pinnacle Sports for the ringleaders of the organised crime-associated undertaking.
He was accused of moving large sums poker and sports betting money through these accounts.
Prosecutors have claimed that the illegal gambling ring, the operation of which involved more than thirty individuals, laundered tens of millions of dollars in gambling proceeds through its live and online poker and sports betting activities.