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Gilbert Arenas arrested for running illegal gambling business
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and 5 other people were arrested on July 30 on a federal charge for allegedly running an illegal gambling business in California.
According to the US Department of Justice’s Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, Gilbert Arenas and five other people, including “a suspected high-level member of an Israeli transnational organized crime group,” operated an illegal gambling ring in Encino, California.
Arenas is charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators. The other five include Yevgeni Gershman, a suspected organized crime figure from Israel, Evgenni Tourevski, Allan Austria, Yarin Cohen, and Ievgen Krachun.
According to the charge, Arenas rented out an Encino mansion to host high-stakes illegal poker games. At Arenas’ direction, Arthur Kats of West Hollywood staged the mansion to host the games, found co-conspirators to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf.
The indictment declared:
“Gershman, Tourevski, Austria, and Cohen managed illegal ‘Pot Limit Omaha’ poker games, among other illegal games, at the Encino mansion, collected a ‘rake’ – a fee the house charged from each pot either as a percentage or a fixed amount per hand – and invited players to compete.
Gershman hired young women who, in exchange for tips, served drinks, provided massages, and offered companionship to the poker players. The women were charged a ‘tax’ – a percentage of their earnings from working the games. Chefs, valets, and armed security guards were also hired to staff these illegal poker games.”
If convicted, the defendants will face a statutory maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for each count.
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