A magistrate judge in New York has denied bail to one of the 11 men indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on Black Friday. Judge James Cott refused bail to 53-year-old Ira Rubin, one of the alleged payment processors that assisted PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in “tricking” banks by disguising payments as transactions with phony internet merchants.
Cott said there were “unlimited reasons” why he was not convinced Rubin could be granted bail, the foremost being the concern that Rubin is a flight risk. Prosecutor Devil Brown said that Rubin had lived in Central America for years to avoid a telemarketing fraud charge and was preparing to flee to Thailand before his arrest.
“I think I have no choice but to detain the defendant,” Cott said at Wednesday’s hearing. Rubin had asked that he be granted $300,000 bond and be allowed to live with his parents in Florida.
Rubin was arrested in 2006 for telemarketing fraud after his company, Global Marketing Group, assisted at least nine Canadian telemarketing firms that sold non-existent credit cards to U.S. consumers. Rubin failed to appear for a hearing to show cause why he shouldn’t be held in contempt of court for violating a temporary restraining order. On January 30, 2008, a judge issued a warrant for Ira N. Rubin’s arrest. He had been on the run since.
Devlin-Brown said that when the charges in the online poker case were announced on April 15, Rubin chartered a plane to Guatemala from Costa Rica that same day, and then intended to go to Thailand. Rubin was arrested in Guatemala and taken to the United States later that month.
The prosecutor also claimed Rubin told a fellow inmate in jail that he had wanted to obtain a fake passport in Guatemala. Rubin’s lawyer said the trip to Guatemala was previously planned.
For his involvement in the illegal online gambling activities, Rubin was charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA); three counts of violation of the UIGEA, three counts of operation of an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering conspiracy. Rubin could face as long as 30 years in prison if convicted.
Rubin’s lawyer, Stuart Meissner, claims that the evidence against his client is questionable and added that Rubin wanted to stay in the U.S. to face the charges.
“This entire case is a little bit of overkill,” Meissner told reporters after Rubin’s bail hearing Wednesday. “This is the U.S. war on gambling as opposed to the U.S. war on terrorism. I don’t think this is a good use of taxpayer resources.”
Devlin-Brown said Wednesday that Rubin helped recruit people to serve as payment processors and to set up fake websites for golf stores and electronic companies. Rubin himself “processed hundreds of millions of dollars” in payments, Devlin-Brown said.
Rubin’s criminal record dates back “to the 1970s,” according to prosecutors, and includes at least 24 different crimes. Devlin-Brown said Rubin has outstanding warrants and criminal cases in Nevada, Massachusetts, Missouri, Florida, New York and Virginia.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily as more on this story develops.
