Chad Elie Pleads Guilty, Will Get 6-12 Months in Jail

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The name Chad Elie may not be the most well-known name in the online poker world out there, but it’s one that had a huge part of the online gambling indictments that came down on eleven men after Black Friday last year.  Elie had nine charges against him, and he has officially decided to plead guilty to one of the nine and by doing so will avoid having to go to trial for anything that is up against him.  Elie worked with the popular online poker sites that were hit by Black Friday such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker as one of the payment processors for them.

Basically what happened was that Elie opened up multiple bank accounts in the United States and used them to get payments from United States poker players while working with the popular poker sites.  He was up for charges that included violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), operating an illegal gambling business, and engaging in money laundering.  All in all, he could have been looking at multiple years in jail, but his decision to plead guilty means that he not only avoids standing trial on April 9th, but also that he get a solid plea deal.

The deal that was worked out and that will be handed down from the judge will be for between six and twelve months, which is good considering that the maximum for the charge that he plead guilty to (a single count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud) could be up to five years in jail.  Along with the jail time he will have to pay $500k, and he is currently out on $250k bond, but will need to go back on October 3rd for his sentencing.

John Campos is another name that was paired up with Elie, as he apparently accepted an investment to work with Elie and process payments through his bank (SunFirst Bank in Utah).  Campos is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and also the part owner of the bank as well.  He has yet to accept a similar plea deal, but the rumors going around are that he will most likely accept a deal like the one that Elie took.