Major figure in New York sports betting and poker bust sentenced

New Jersey resident and one of the major defendants in the “art dealer” online sports betting and poker busts that took place in New York last year (see previous  reports) Anatoly Golubchik was sentenced Tuesday by federal Judge Jesse M. Furman, receiving a heftier prison sentence than he literally had bargained for.

57-year-old Golubchik was among 33 other celebrity and professional defendants arrested and indicted by enforcement agencies in the April 2013 swoop.

He subsequently agreed a plea bargain on racketeering conspiracy with the New York US Attorney’s Office in a deal that included a $20 million forfeiture clause and an understanding that prosecutors would ask for a no more than just over a year of jail-time.

However, Judge Furman found that Golubchik’s influence as a ringleader in the illegal gambling enterprise had been considerable, and sentenced him to a heavier jail term despite the protestations of his attorney.

More fireworks are likely to take place when the learned Judge oversees the sentencing of another defendant in the case today (Wednesday) when art dealer and wealthy family playboy Hillel Nahmad appears.

Nahmad has agreed to plead guilty to operating an illegal gambling enterprise and has accepted a forfeiture of $6.5 million. In his case the prosecution is asking for a sentence of no more than 18 months imprisonment.

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