Australian Gambling – THE Australian behind the darkest day in online poker history could avoid a life sentence in prison after becoming an informant for the FBI.
Brisbane native Daniel Tzvetkoff, 30, was arrested in Las Vegas in 2010 for illegally laundering more than US$1 billion for online poker companies through his personal company Intabill.
The business and I.T whiz, who was reportedly earning more than $3 million a week at the height of the scheme, faced a 76-year jail term after being caught and served four months in jail before turning informant.
Tzvetkoff provided the FBI with information that helped shut down some of the biggest online poker companies in the world including Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker – a day dubbed by industry insiders as Black Friday.
As part of his deal with the FBI, Tzvetkoff handed over 90,000 documents to prosecutors that led to charges being filed against Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate of PokerStars, Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick of Full Tilt Poker, and Scott Tom and Brent Beckley of Absolute Poker.
Tzvetkoff was released from US prison after turning on his former employers and returned to Australia where he is currently living with his wife and two young children.
It seems that his days cooperating with the feds has paid off, with a probation report recommending that Tzvetkoff receive a sentence of between six and 12 months.
If the recommendation is heeded, the Australian may not even have to return to the US at all. His lawyer, Robert Goldstein, told the Courier Mail that he would argue that the four months Tzvetkoff has already served should be sufficient.
