The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a German national this week on suspicions of paying prizes for online poker. Michael Olaf Schuett, however, was charged with money laundering instead of just violating online gambling law in the US.
The FBI was tipped off by FedEx after it monitored that Schuett was sending more than 50 monetary packages to different addresses in the US. According to reports, Schuett set up accounts in different and used them as a way to pay online poker winners in the US.
Suspicions also arose from banks across the country when big checks were being cashed from an account named MCM Capital Management, Schuett’s main company. All the accounts that are related to MCM in various banks have already been frozen.
Investigations are still ongoing and the judge handling the case decline to grant Schuett bond because of imminent flight risk. Schuett’s visa to the US will not expire until April and that was what made the judge decide not to release him on bond.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act had been put in place since 2006 but it does not completely illegalize online gambling. Due to the vagueness of the UIGEA, Rep. Barney Frank had been trying to reverse it.
