Federal Indictment Against Paul Phua Dismissed As Prosecution “Has No Evidence”

In a case that dates back to last summer, the federal indictment against Malaysian businessman and poker professional Paul Phua was dismissed by U. S. District Court Judge Andrew Gordon after the prosecutors indicated to him that there was no other evidence that could be presented to prove Phua’s guilt.

Although the prosecution didn’t agree with the decision Judge Andrew, who had previously tossed out evidence obtained by an undercover operation, stated to U. S. Attorney Cristina Silva that it was “the proper decision” because the government had admitted that they “had no other evidence” to provide to the court that Phua committed any crimes. According to Jeff German of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Silva attempted to stall the hearing earlier this week to allow for the federal government to appeal Andrew’s decisions but Phua’s attorneys David Chesnoff and Thomas Goldstein argued that delaying any dismissal of the charges would leave Phua “twisting in the wind.”

With the decision by Judge Andrew against the federal government, Phua’s $2 million bail – which was allegedly paid in full by poker professional Phil Ivey and another unnamed pro – will be immediately returned. Phua will also be returned his passport, his $48 million jet that has sat dormant for almost a year and has been released from electronic surveillance and restrictions on his movements. It is believed that Phua, upon the completion of the required paperwork, will return to Malaysia to attend to his mother, who is in ill health.

The hearing, which played out earlier this week, was further damnation of the processes the federal government used to garner evidence in the case. In July 2014, Phua and seven other men (including his son, Darren) took up residence in three villas on the grounds of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Investigators believed the reason for the entourage was an elaborate gambling scheme that focused on the 2014 World Cup but needed evidence of some sort of wrongdoing before they could act.

To obtain the evidence necessary for a search warrant, federal agents conducted an elaborate ruse that ran afoul of several normal investigative procedures. An internet outage was arranged in collaboration with Caesars Palace officials and, after a call from the Phua party, agents disguised as internet technicians entered the three villas. Equipped with hidden cameras, the agents recorded the activities that were taking place with the Phua group, including computers that showed World Cup betting screens and other allegedly illegal operations.

Following the incursion, federal attorneys went to a judge and obtained a search warrant, which was rife with issues itself. By not mentioning how the evidence was obtained – which a judge probably would have ruled as illegal from the beginning – the government got a search warrant for the Phua villas and obtained troves of evidence that there was a gambling ring being conducted by the group. Alleging that the operation drew in $13 million during the course of the World Cup, Phua and his associates were all charged with illegal gambling.

At first, the case seemed to be working well for the government. Six of the men in the case pled guilty and were given suspended sentences provided they returned to Malaysia and not re-enter the United States. Phua and his son, however, decided to fight the charges and were subjected to virtual house arrest (Phua’s son would eventually plead guilty and receive a similar sentence to the other defendants). In addition to this, the two Phua men were barred from entering any casino in Nevada (keeping the elder Phua out of some High Roller tournaments, his particular forte) due to their illegal gambling charges.

Once Phua’s attorneys got ahold of the case, the tide began to turn. Chesnoff and Goldstein were able to bring the methods of the government into play regarding their evidence gathering and several judges, including Judge Andrew, were adamant in their rulings that those methods were illegal. As such, all evidence gathered during the undercover operation – and the evidence recovered from the warrant that was obtained on false pretenses – were tossed out of the proceedings.

“Paul Phua stood his ground for himself, his friends and family and all of us,” Chesnoff said after the court hearing to German. “Ultimately, he has been vindicated by our constitutional system and the honesty and strength of our federal judiciary. He is free.”

The course of action for the federal government is an appeal of the decisions made by judges in the case. It will be difficult, however, to find an appeals court that will have a different opinion regarding Fourth Amendment issues that are brought up in this case. With the inability to earn a change to Judge Andrew’s decisions, the case against Paul Phua is essentially over.