Article

Nov 29, 2012

Ifrah Law to Represent Pinnacle Sports Owner Stanley Tomchin

EGaming Review Magazine

by Tom Victor

Pinnacle Sports co-owner Stanley Tomchin, one of 25 individuals named in last month’s high-profile indictment, is to fight what his representatives describe as “untrue” allegations concerning his alleged activities relationship with his fellow indictees, eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.

67-year-old California resident Tomchin – said in the indictment to be also known as “Monty” – is currently out on bail, having been charged with “Enterprise corruption and fourth-, third-, second- and first-degree money laundering and fifth-degree conspiracy,” in the indictment from the Queens County District Attorney’s Office.

Among the others named in the indictment are fellow Pinnacle Sports owners Brandt England and George Molsbarger, as well as former Cantor Gaming sportsbook director Mike Colbert, who was stripped of his duties following the allegations.

Jeff Ifrah, partner with Washington DC law firm Ifrah Law, is representing Tomchin in the case having previously represented Blue Monday indictee Dave Parchomchuk, who was sentenced to two years probation for his role with BetED – a role which he and Ifrah have maintained amounted to no more than a software programmer.

Ifrah, who was also among the lawyers to represent Full Tilt Poker in the sale of its assets to PokerStars, said: “Stan Tomchin denies the allegations against him in the indictment. We look forward to clearing his good name and restoring his reputation.”

Tomchin’s representatives take issue with suggestions from US media that he was the ‘Kingpin’ of the illegal gambling activities alleged in the indictment, stressing that he has only met two of the other 24 defendants, and also contest his alleged role as a “top-tier” bookmaker.

A statement on Tomchin’s behalf reads: “[The indictment claims] that Stan was a “top-tier” bookmaker, who oversaw many agents, which is untrue. Stan is a world-renowned odds maker, and was never in control of taking bets, but acted as someone who set the betting odds based on calculations of the outcome of various contests.”

The 25 individuals named in the indictment are all alleged to have been “Members and associates of an organization that operated an illegal gambling enterprise…” and are accused of having “The common purpose…to acquire money illegally through the promotion of gambling activity, including wagers on sports.”

Pinnacle Sports holds egaming licences in Curaçao and Alderney, the latter in the name of its Pinnacle Sports Europe subsidiary. It claims that “Since January 2007 it has been our intention to not accept wagers from the United States,” and this year the operator enforced IP checks in order to ensure no play takes place from the jurisdiction.

Following last month’s indictment the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) confirmed that it was set to conduct a “special investigation” into Pinnacle Sports Europe, and the commission’s executive director André Wilsenach told eGaming Review that there is nothing further to add at present with regards to the progress of this investigation.

In a statement to eGR on 29 October, Pinnacle Sports explained: “Regarding the recent allegations surrounding the individuals allegedly affiliated with Pinnacle Sports, please be reassured that no Pinnacle Sports employees have been arrested or charged, and Pinnacle Sports itself was not charged in the indictment.”

A spokesperson for Pinnacle Sports said the company had nothing to add at present beyond the October statement.