The Russian Crime Organization That Operated in Trump Tower

The Russian Crime Organization That Operated in Trump Tower

FBI wiretaps, illegal gambling and an Israeli connection, just three floors down from Donald Trump’s penthouse.


Taly Krupkin Mar 22, 2017 10:43 PM
0 comments


The FBI did wiretap Trump Tower, but its target was not the future president of the United States and the operation was over well before Donald Trump even declared his candidacy. Instead, the bureau was listening in on a Russian crime organization that worked out of offices on the building's 63rd floor, just three stories below Trump's penthouse. As reported by ABC News on Tuesday, the FBI had the building under surveillance, including electronic monitoring, from 2011 to 2013. The investigation led to the indictment of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is wanted by Interpol and on the lam in Russia, and 33 individuals suspected of working for him.

“He is a major player,” Mike Gaeta, who ran the FBI’s Eurasian organized crime unit in New York and led the 2013 FBI investigation, told ABC News about Tokhtakhounov, who holds both Russian and Israeli citizenship.

“He is prominent. He has extremely good connections in the business world as well as the criminal world, overseas, in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, other countries.


"Because of his status, we have kept tabs on his activities and particularly as his activities truly enter New York City. Their money was ultimately laundered from Russia, Ukraine and other locations through Cyprus banks and shell companies based in Cyprus and then ultimately here to the United States," Gaeta said.

Tokhtakhounov, a “vor v zakone,” the equivalent of a "godfather" in Russian crime organizations, has been a fugitive from American justice since before the wiretap in Trump Tower. In the summer of 2002 Tokhtakhounov , who is also known as “Taiwanchik” ("little Taiwanese in Russias), was arrested in Italy for bribing judges of the figure skating competitions in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics that year. In a press conference after the arrest, James Comey — now the director of the FBI at a time when the bureau is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, who at the time was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, announced Tokhtakhounov's arrest.

>> Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings, records show <<
- Donald J. Trump's holdings


"The complaint alleges that the long arm of Russian organized crime reached across the globe this past February and into Salt Lake City with a pair of fixes for the Winter Olympics," Comey said at the press conference. The accusations were based on recorded conversations that Tokhtakhounov conducted.

Italy refused the U.S. extradition request, and Tokhtakhounov returned to Moscow, where he continues to be a presence in local social scene, boasting of friendships with local athletes and celebrities such as the pop singer Philip Kirkorov, appearing in documentaries and voicing his support for the government of President Vladimir Putin.

In interviews, Tokhtakhounov has expressed sadness over losing the opportunity to travel and live abroad, especially in France and Italy. In the Israeli documentary "Thieves in Law" (2010), Tokhtakhounov recalled his life in Israel in the early 1990s. “I understood that it's hard to live with a Russian passport, 'cause you have to renew the visa all the time. I had a Jewish lover so we went to Israel. We got married, moved to Israel and I got the papers. I lived in Israel for six months. Then I realized it's not for me. My wife dies, we buried her and I moved to Paris,” he said in the movie.

While Tokhtakhounov was hiding in Russia, his associate, according to the court documents, was running a crime operation from Trump Tower. Vadim Trincher, an emigrant from the former Soviet Union who holds American and Israeli citizenship, moved to Trump Tower in 2009.

According to the sealed indictment issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in 2013 as a result of the surveillance operation, “VADIM TRINCHER, a/k/a 'Dima,' was a participant in the enterprise, the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization, and was a leader of it. In that capacity, TRINCHER participated in and profited from various crimes, which he committed along with other members and associates of the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization.

Among other things, TRINCHER oversaw a high-stakes illegal sports gambling business that catered almost exclusively to oligarchs living in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. … Members and associates of the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization and their co-conspirators employed a sophisticated money laundering scheme to move tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from the gambling operation from the former Soviet Union through shell companies in Cyprus into various investments and other shell companies in the United States.”

The organization laundered millions of dollars, with $10 million paid to Tokhtakhounov himself. Trincher pled guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering, and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Another part of the scheme was operated by the organization's younger generation. According to court documents, Trincher’s son Ilya and Hillel "Helly" Nahmad, a prominent art dealer who lived on the 51st floor of Trump Tower, ran an “illegal international gambling business that catered to multi-millionaires and billionaires”.

Nahmad is the scion of a family of Jewish bankers from Syria. He owns Helly Nahmad Gallery, in Manhattan, which has exhibited works by Picasso, Modigliani and Kandinsky. Nahmad pled guilty to gambling charges and received a one-year prison sentence. Having served his sentence, Nahmad continues to be a prominent figure in the art world and to live in his Trump Tower residence.

In 2013, a few months after the arrests of members of the Russian crime ring that worked out of his eponymous midtown tower, Donald Trump flew to Moscow for the Miss Universe contest. Among the guests spotted on the red carpet was Tokhtakhounov, who has been accused of rigging beauty contests in the past. According to a report in Mother Jones, he was invited as a VIP guest to the show, but journalists couldn’t confirm if the two met at the event. After returning to the United States, Donald Trump boasted to the New York Post, "Almost all of the oligarchs were in the room”.

read more: http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.779006

Report: FBI Wiretapped Trump Tower, But The Target Was Not The President

Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings

So the Russians liked to run gambling operations for millionaires and bribe Judges of beauty contests and the Olympics Figure Skating?!! Is that because they were bookies on the contests or didn't think their candidates and athletes would win otherwise?!!

Tokhtakhounov Says Criminal Charges Are Just a Misunderstanding


In Russia, Living the High Life; in America, a Wanted Man

By ANDREW E. KRAMER and JAMES GLANZ
JUNE 1, 2013

Photohttps://static01.nyt.com/images/2013...master1050.jpg
A MISUNDERSTANDING “I am not bad, like you think,” says Alimzhan T. Tokhtakhounov. “I am not the Mafia, I am not a bandit.” He faces charges in the United States, but not in Russia. CreditOksana Yushko for The New York Times

MOSCOW — The waiters hovered as Alimzhan T. Tokhtakhounov worked through a platter of chilled mussels, shrimp and octopus one afternoon last month at the restaurant Palazzo Ducale, one of the finest here. The staff could afford to be attentive: there was no one else to serve.
Despite the hour, toward the end of what is usually a busy lunchtime, the restaurant was empty when Mr. Tokhtakhounov came in to speak with a reporter about recent racketeering charges in the United States.

American law enforcement officials view Mr. Tokhtakhounov as a leading figure in Russian organized crime, a member of a storied order of Russian mobsters who is accused of, among other activities, fixing skating matches at the Salt Lake City Olympics and running a high-stakes, trans-Atlantic gambling and money-laundering ring.

But aside from the eerie void in the restaurant and a guard outside, Mr. Tokhtakhounov’s life here seems open and even somewhat ordinary.

Like other men whom the American authorities have identified as Russian mobsters, he walks the streets freely, albeit with a bodyguard. He has his picture taken smiling alongside the glitterati at concerts, fashion shows and soccer matches. He invests in real estate and has recently taken up fiction writing. He showed his guest one of his novels, “Angel From Couture,” a semiautobiographical story that focuses on the love affair of a young model and an older man.

Whatever else he may be, he insisted over lunch, he is innocent of all charges against him.

“I am not bad, like you think,” he said, spearing an octopus tentacle with his fork and washing it down with sparkling mineral water. “I am not the Mafia, I am not a bandit.”

Federal authorities in the United States have been pursuing Mr. Tokhtakhounov (pronounced toe-TAH-hoon-ov) since 2002, when he was charged with fixing ice dancing and pairs skating competitions at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

In the more recent case, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged him in April with being a leader of a sports betting ring with operations in New York, Los Angeles, Russia and Ukraine. The setup drew in billionaire gamblers and laundered money through accounts around the world, prosecutors say.

Their indictment identifies Mr. Tokhtakhounov as a particular type of Russian criminal known as a “Vor v Zakone,” or “thief in law,” sometimes known as a Vor: a member of an almost priestly order, originally forged from prison hierarchies in the gulags. Vors are said to live by a strict code: They never marry, work or tell lies.

Mr. Tokhtakhounov, who is in his mid-60s, is “one of the last of the older generation of godfathers,” said Mark Galeotti, a professor at New York University and an authority on Russian criminality. And his is among a handful of names that virtually every Russian gangster recognizes, he said.

Despite that reputation and the American charges, Russian authorities leave Mr. Tokhtakhounov alone. Russia has no extradition treaty with the United States and no outstanding charges against him. His thin criminal history here, an internal passport violation and an infraction for being unemployed, dates from the Soviet era and is no longer on the books.

Russian police officials say they have nothing on Mr. Tokhtakhounov; a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, which oversees the police, confirmed he is on no wanted list here.

Russia under Vladimir V. Putin has arrived at a sort of détente with organized crime. In the 1990s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia was besieged by mob wars in which gangsters publicly killed their enemies, but such violence has dropped sharply over the past decade.

Mr. Putin, who was president in the early 2000s and is again now, let it be known that such overt displays of gangsterism undermined the authority of the state and would not be tolerated, but he otherwise left the underworld hierarchy intact, Dr. Galeotti said.

Many violent crime figures have evolved into semilegitimate businessmen who carry on their activities through somewhat more acceptable means. Some now operate so openly that they have held gatherings on pleasure boats in the Moscow River in the heart of the city, the police say.

Whatever the benefits of such an arrangement inside Russia, thieves in law remain a menace in émigré communities abroad, said Sergei Kanev, a reporter covering organized crime at the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

“Even in America the thieves have a huge influence on former Soviet immigrants,” he said. “Criminal threads still tie them together. All their relatives are here in Russia. A thief might say, ‘Play along, or your uncle and aunt will get it.’ ”
Photo

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2013...ER-2-jumbo.jpg

WANTED Mr. Tokhtakhounov’s Interpol wanted poster accuses him of “bribery in sport contests,” along with fraud and other malfeasance. Mr. Tokhtakhounov, however, contested the F.B.I.’s characterization of him.

He has been married, though he is now single. The police outside Russia, he said, often mistake his penchant for flashy clothes and high-priced meals for the lifestyle of a mobster.

“Let me explain something,” he said. “A thief in law, if he is a thief, he should not say, ‘I am not a thief.’ He should say, ‘I am a thief.’ And I say, ‘I am not a thief.’ You understand.”

Asked if he had ordered the restaurant cleared out for the interview, he just smiled, shrugged and suggested it was not a busy time.

American authorities say in the recent case that Mr. Tokhtakhounov served as a ringleader along with two others, Vadim Trincher and Anatoly Golubchik, of one of two overlapping illegal gambling operations. One operation, prosecutors say, was led in part by the scion of a New York art dealing family, Hillel Nahmad, which hosted poker games for celebrities and financial titans in New York and Los Angeles.

In the other operation, Mr. Tokhtakhounov is accused of funneling Russian oligarchs’ losses to shell companies in Cyprus, disguised as phony loans. The scheme, prosecutors say, laundered more than $50 million.

All the suspects have pleaded not guilty except Mr. Tokhtakhounov, who has not left Russia for a decade, he said, because of his fugitive status. Lawyers for Mr. Golubchik, Mr. Trincher and Mr. Nahmad said their clients were wrongly charged. The lawyer for Mr. Nahmad, Benjamin Brafman, said his client had never met or spoken to Mr. Tokhtakhounov, and even the indictment does not claim that.

Mr. Tokhtakhounov attributed his latest troubles to American agents’ eavesdropping on his phone calls with Mr. Trincher and Mr. Golubchik when he was placing bets, up to $20,000 on individual soccer games. The bets were his own, he said, not those of gambling clients; the agents misinterpreted his Russian slang.

“I speak openly on the phone,” he said, waving his gold-colored clamshell Samsung. “That is my whole problem.”

“If I’m a dealer, catch me,” he said. “They just catch my words. Ah ha! An organizer. How could I organize gambling in America? It’s impossible. And why would I? This is not my business.”

As he tells it, he is a real estate investor in Moscow, an organizer of Russian pop concerts and fashion shows, and now a writer. “I live peacefully on this business and raise my children,” he said.

Mr. Tokhtakhounov owned casinos in Moscow before gambling was outlawed there in 2009. His novel “Angel From Couture,” published in 2010, is subtitled “A Novel From the Life of High Fashion.” In the 1990s, he represented a Russian modeling association in Paris. The inside cover summarizes the story as “What happens when a young beauty falls for the charms of an older man.” Last year, he fathered twin girls with a woman 40 years younger than he is.

He lives in a prestigious apartment building in central Moscow and owns a palatial country home outside the city.

He is also something of a celebrity, famously friendly with Joseph Kobzon, a crooner known as the Russian Frank Sinatra.

After the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, the F.B.I. said he had directed a scheme to secure a gold medal for the top Russian pairs skaters and for the top ice dancers representing France, one of whom was a Russian. The Russian pairs skaters won the gold, but after questions were raised about the judging, the Olympic committee awarded duplicate gold medals to the second-place Canadian team.

The authorities in Italy, where he then lived, detained him briefly on the charges but released him to Russia rather than extradite him to the United States.

His Interpol wanted poster accuses him of “bribery in sport contests,” fraud and other malfeasance and says he is affiliated with Semyon Y. Mogilevich, a man the American authorities consider a Russian Mafia godfather who is on the F.B.I.’s Ten Most Wanted list. Mr. Mogilevich also lives freely in Russia.

Mr. Tokhtakhounov denied knowing Mr. Mogilevich.

But he glumly recounted friendships with several others reputed to be Mafia leaders, including those known by the nicknames Grandpa Hassan and Yaponchik, or the Little Japanese, who were killed in recent years in two rare occurrences of mob violence. They were shot by snipers while leaving Moscow restaurants after meals.

At the Palazzo Ducale, as Mr. Tokhtakhounov’s own guard waited, he denied, line by line, the allegations against him.

Three waiters continually circled, topping off the water glasses until one wandered too close during conversation and Mr. Tokhtakhounov told him to go away.

“Alimzhan,” the waiter responded, “Don’t worry, you know us: we’re deaf.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/wo...rstanding.html

You know, my respect for the FBI has sunk lower than I could have ever thought possible.

We waste 2 years of FBI resources chasing a group of Russians who like to come to the states and play money poker and bet on sports? Honestly?! HONESTLY?!!! We've got a $300 billion a year foreign illegal drug trade pouring in over the Southern Border and 30 million illegal aliens roaming our land stealing jobs and benefits and killing our citizens, but the FBI is wasting our resources wiretapping Russians betting on soccer games and playing money poker in New York City?!

How did they get a federal warrant for the wiretap on these guys to begin with? There's no federal law against playing poker or betting on sports.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Judy

. . . How did they get a federal warrant for the wiretap on these guys to begin with? There's no federal law against playing poker or betting on sports.

---

It is illegal to RUN an illegal sports betting operation and launder illegal money.

"the bureau was listening in on a Russian crime organization that worked out of offices on the building's 63rd floor, just three stories below Trump's penthouse. As reported by ABC News on Tuesday, the FBI had the building under surveillance, including electronic monitoring, from 2011 to 2013. The investigation led to the indictment of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is wanted by Interpol and on the lam in Russia, and 33 individuals suspected of working for him..."

"Among other things, TRINCHER oversaw a high-stakes illegal sports gambling business that catered almost exclusively to oligarchs living in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. … Members and associates of the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization and their co-conspirators employed a sophisticated money laundering scheme to move tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from the gambling operation from the former Soviet Union through shell companies in Cyprus into various investments and other shell companies in the United States.”

The organization laundered millions of dollars, with $10 million paid to Tokhtakhounov himself. Trincher pled guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering, and was sentenced to five years in prison."


Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings

According to the article, they ran the gambling operation in Russia and Ukraine. We have no jurisdiction there under their laws. Having poker parties for money at Trump Tower might violate New York State Law, but I'm not aware of any federal law against gambling in New York or elsewhere. Same with sports betting. The same is true with the money laundering linked to it, but the article says the money laundering through Cyprus was from "phony loans". Again, the US has no jurisdiction in Cyprus over what is or is not or could be or might be a "phony loan" any more than we have any jurisdiction over Russian and Ukrainian gambling operations.

I'm just confused as to what federal laws in our country ban gambling and sports betting or what federal laws we have that accuse people of money laundering of foreign money earned in foreign gambling and sports betting operations that that they then loan to themselves or others in other foreign countries and then somehow use that to play money poker in New York City.

Normally, if somehow for some reason we discovered possible wrong-doing or crimes that were occurring in foreign countries, we would notify those countries authorities and let them know they have a potential criminal element violating their laws and if they are hiding out here in the US, agree to requests for any extradition of those authorities wish to pursue the matters.

It's just very odd to me. Maybe this is what the FBI does, playing the role of an international crime-fighting robin hood prosecuting here for possible crimes there, but this is all news to me, because I don't believe we have any jurisdiction for those types of prosecutions and why in the world would we even waste our time and money on such activities and incarcerations with backlogs all over the place in prosecuting people who have broken our laws? Millions of Americans bet on sports in the United States and play money poker. Yes, some of these activities violate the laws in some states.

Maybe there's some law or explanation out there that I'm not aware of. I've just never heard of any federal laws against gambling or sports betting in the US, let alone in Russia or Ukraine.

28 U.S. Code § 3702 - Unlawful sports gambling

• US Code

It shall be unlawful for—(1)a governmental entity to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize by law or compact, or

(2)a person to sponsor, operate, advertise, or promote, pursuant to the law or compact of a governmental entity,

a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly (through the use of geographical references or otherwise), on one or more competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate, or are intended to participate, or on one or more performances of such athletes in such games.

(Added Pub. L. 102–559, § 2(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4228.)

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/3702

18 U.S. Code § 1956 - Laundering of monetary instruments | US Law ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1956
to avoid a transaction reporting requirement under State or Federal law, ... the value of the property, funds, or monetary instruments involved in the transaction; or.

U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
(212) 637-2600


April 30, 2014


Two Defendants Sentenced for Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy with Russian-American Organized Crime Enterprise Operating International Sportsbook That Laundered More Than $100 Million

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANATOLY GOLUBCHIK was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court to five years in prison, and VADIM TRINCHER was also sentenced today to five years in prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with their roles as members of a Russian-American organized crime enterprise.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring.

I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in working to ensure that the members of this underground enterprise were held to account for their crimes.”
According to the indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:
The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization (the “Organization”) was a criminal enterprise with strong ties to Russia and Ukraine. The enterprise operated a high-stakes, illegal sports gambling business out of New York City that catered primarily to Russian oligarchs living in Ukraine and Russia.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were U.S.-based participants in the enterprise. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER booked sports bets that reached into the millions of dollars and laundered the proceeds of the Organization’s international sportsbook. Between 2006 and April 2012, the enterprise laundered approximately $100 million in proceeds from their gambling operation in Russia and Ukraine through shell companies and bank accounts in Cyprus; and of this $100 million, approximately $50 million was subsequently sent from Cyprus into the United States.

Once the money had been transferred to the United States, it was either laundered through additional shell companies or invested in legitimate investments, such as hedge funds and real estate.
The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization operated under the protection of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is known as a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law,” that refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from the former Soviet Union. Tokhtakhounov used his status as a Vor to resolve disputes with clients of the high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm. Between December 2011 and February 2013, Tokhtakhounov was paid at least approximately $12 million for his services by the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization. Tokhtakhounov is also under indictment in the Southern District of New York for his alleged involvement in bribing officials at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tokhtakhounov is a fugitive and is still being sought.

***

Twenty-eight defendants in this case have pled guilty and two have entered into deferred prosecution agreements. The defendants who have pled to date have agreed to forfeit, in total, more than $68 million. The following defendants have pled guilty, and have been sentenced or await sentencing:

• Bryan Zuriff pled guilty to gambling charges on July 26, 2013, and was sentenced on November 25, 2013.
• William Barbalat pled guilty to gambling charges on August 14, 2013, and was sentenced on December 16, 2013.
• Kirill Rapoport pled guilty to gambling charges on August 16, 2013, and was sentenced on December 19, 2014.
• Edwin Ting and Justin Smith pled guilty to gambling charges on September 4, 2013, and were sentenced on January 21, 2014, and January 6, 2014, respectively.
• Dmitry Druzhinsky and David Aaron pled guilty to gambling charges on October 4, 2013, and were sentenced on April 18, 2014, and February 14, 2014, respectively.
• Alexander Zaverukha pled guilty to gambling charges on October 10, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2014.
• Nicholas Hirsch pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on October 16, 2013, and was sentenced on February 25, 2014.
• Anatoly Shteyngrob pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering on October 17, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2014.
• Yugeshwar Rajkumar pled guilty to gambling charges on October 18, 2013, and was sentenced on March 25, 2014.
• Stan Greenberg pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on October 22, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
• Arthur Azen pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiring to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means on November 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
• Hillel Nahmad pled guilty to gambling charges on November 12, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
• Vadim Trincher pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 14, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
• Eugene Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 14, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2014.
• Anatoly Golubchik pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 15, 2013, and was sentenced on April 29, 2014.
• Illya Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 15, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2014.
• Ronald Uy pled guilty to structuring financial transactions on November 25, 2013, and was sentenced on March 27, 2014.
• Moshe Oratz pled guilty to gambling charges on December 3, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
• Michael Sall pled guilty to interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity (illegal gambling) and Jonathan Hirsch pled guilty to gambling charges on December 4, 2013. Sall was sentenced on April 18, 2014, and Hirsch is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014.
• Noah Siegel pled guilty to gambling charges on December 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 10, 2014.
• Molly Bloom pled guilty to gambling charges on December 12, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
• Alexander Katchaloff pled guilty to gambling charges on January 16, 2014, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2014.
• Donald McCalmont, John Jarekci, a/k/a “John Hanson,” and Abraham Mosseri pled guilty to making a fraudulent tax statement, to failing to file a tax return, and causing a financial institution to participate in a lottery related matter, respectively, on January 24, 2014, and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, May 28, 2014, and May 21, 2014, respectively.
• William Edler and Peter Feldman entered into deferred prosecution agreements on April 11, 2014.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harris M. Fischman, Joshua A. Naftalis, Peter J. Skinner, and Kristy J. Greenberg of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant
U.S. Attorney Alexander Wilson of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field...an-100-million

I'm not understanding a lot of this - but maybe these guys didn't know you were supposed to grease the right palms.

The Russian Mob has been operating in this country for decades into a lot of wrongdoing, more egregious than illegal betting.

Makes you wonder-------

Feds arrest nine members of a Brooklyn-based Russian criminal enterprise

BY JOHN MARZULLI
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 4:30 PM



http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...-mob1-1109.jpgFederal agents arrested nine members of a Brooklyn-based Russian organized crime syndicate on Wednesday.

(OBTAINED BY NEWS)
Federal agents arrested nine reputed members of a Brooklyn-based Russian organized crime syndicate Wednesday with close ties to an underworld group in Eastern Europe known as Thieves in Law, authorities said.

A 10-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court charges them with racketeering, extortion, loansharking, marijuana trafficking and illegal gambling.

"The defendants, all of whom are members of the transnational enterprise, report abroad to high-ranking organized crime members living in Eastern Europe," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Jacobs and Andrey Spektor stated in court papers.

The Thieves in Law helped the Brooklyn mobsters collect extortion debts from victims living outside the U.S., the prosecutors stated.

Russia celebrates as Trump takes White House on Election Day

One victim who owed the Brooklyn mobsters $200,000 was tracked down in Israel and other family members were in Russia with the help of the Thieves.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...-mob2-1109.jpgThe mobsters are expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday afternoon.
(OBTAINED BY NEWS)

The Brooklyn mobsters operated in Coney Island and Brighton Beach, sources said. High-stakes poker games were set up at a building on Coney Island Ave. which from the outside appeared to be an auto leasing and private security business.

One defendant, Aleksey Tsvetkov, was previously convicted of racketeering in 2005 and deported to the Ukraine. But Tsvetkov was allowed to return to the U.S. and granted asylum after claiming that he was tortured when he returned to his homeland.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, and the NYPD also busted Leonid Gershman, Renat Yusufov, Igor Krugly, Vyacheslav Malkeyev, Isok Aronov, Yusuf Pardilov, and Librado Rivera.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2865940

Global banks handled laundered Russian cash worth tens of BILLIONS of dollars

Deutsche Bank fined for $10 BILLION Russian money-laundering scheme

Thank you for the code statutes, JD2. Never knew that!! You know Americans are involved in sports betting of every kind every day, football, basketball, baseball, horse racing, car racing, boxing ... and doing it through bookies all over the place. That's why I had no idea there was a federal law against sports betting. It's like ... so stupid to have a law against what everyone does every day. Today, it's mostly why people watch and attend the events. If there was no sports betting, interest in the events would plummet and there would be no sports. These are anti-business, anti-sports, anti-American statues that no one abides, seems to me.

More about the source of the first article.

Another left wing propaganda piece that, in my opinion, really should not rate a comment.

Haaretz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Not to be confused with Land of Israel.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...z_logo.svg.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...front_page.jpg
Type	Daily Newspaper
Format	Berliner
Owner(s)	Schocken Family (60%) M. DuMont Schauberg (20%) Leonid Nevzlin (20%)
Publisher	Amos Schocken, M. DuMont Schauberg
Editor	Aluf Benn[1]
Founded	1919
Political alignment	liberal, political left
Language	Hebrew and English editions
Headquarters	Tel Aviv, Israel
Country	Israel
Circulation	72,000 (Weekends: 100,000)[2]
Website	http://www.haaretz.co.il http://www.haaretz.com
Media of Israel List of newspapers

Haaretz (Hebrew: הארץ‎‎) (lit. "The Land [of Israel]", originally Ḥadashot Ha'aretz – Hebrew: חדשות הארץ‎‎, IPA: [χadaˈʃot haˈʔaʁets] – "News [of] the Land [of Israel]"^[3]) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently still in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International New York Times. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet. In North America, it comes out as a weekly newspaper, combining articles from the Friday edition with a roundup from the rest of the week.

It is known for its left-wing and liberal stances on domestic and foreign issues. As of 2016, the newspaper had a weekday exposure rate of 3.9% in Israel, significantly lower than the country's other national newspapers.^[4][5]

History and ownership

Haaretz was first published in 1918 as a newspaper sponsored by the British military government in Palestine.^[6] In 1919, it was taken over by a group of socialist-oriented Zionists, mainly from Russia.^[7][8] The newspaper was established on 18 June 1919 by a group of businessmen including prominent philanthropist Isaac Leib Goldberg, and initially, it was called Hadashot Ha'aretz ("News of the Land"). Later, the name was shortened to Haaretz.^[9] The literary section of the paper attracted leading Hebrew writers of the time.^[10]

The newspaper was initially published in Jerusalem. From 1919 to 1922, the paper was headed by a succession of editors, among them Leib Yaffe. It was shut down briefly due to a budgetary shortfall and reopened in Tel Aviv at the beginning of 1923 under the editorship of Moshe Glickson, who held the post for 15 years.^[8] The Tel Aviv municipality granted the paper financial support by paying in advance for future advertisements.^[11]

Salman Schocken, a wealthy German Jewish Zionist who owned a chain of department stores in Germany, bought the paper in 1937. His son, Gershom Schocken, became the chief editor in 1939 and held that position until his death in 1990.^[12]

Until August 2006, the Schocken family owned 100% of the Haaretz Group, but then the German publisher M. DuMont Schauberg acquired 25 percent of the shares.^[13] The deal was negotiated with the help of former Israeli ambassador to Germany, Avi Primor.^[14] This deal was seen as controversial in Israel as DuMont Schauberg's father, Kurt Neven DuMont, was member of the German Nazi party, while his publishing house promoted Nazi ideology.^[15]

On 12 June 2011, it was announced that Russian-Israeli businessman Leonid Nevzlin had purchased a 20% stake in the Haaretz Group, buying 15% from the family and 5% from M. DuMont Schauberg. This means that the Schocken family now owns 60% and M. DuMont Schauberg and Leonid Nevzlin have 20% each.^[16]

In October 2012, a union strike mobilized to protest planned layoffs by the Haaretz management. As a consequence, both the Haaretz newspaper and its TheMarker business supplement were not printed for one day. According to Israel Radio, it was the first time since 1965 that a newspaper did not go to press on account of a strike.<sup>[17][18]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haaretz</sup>

Trump son-in-law's ties to Israel raise questions of bias

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DANIEL ESTRIN
Associated PressMarch 25, 2017
848 Comments

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/36...f59de7015e.jpg
FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2017 file photo, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner arrives for a meeting between President Donald Trump and automobile leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) More

JERUSALEM (AP) — Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has deep business and personal ties to Israel that could raise questions about his ability to serve as an honest broker as he oversees the White House's Mideast peace efforts.

But some say these ties, which include a previously undisclosed real estate deal in New Jersey with a major Israeli insurer, may give Kushner a surprising advantage as he is expected to launch the first peace talks of the Trump era. Having the trust of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the thinking goes, could make Kushner well positioned to extract concessions from the hard-line Israeli leader.

Kushner's family real estate company has longstanding and ongoing deals with major Israeli financial institutions. These relationships, along with a personal friendship with Netanyahu and past links to the West Bank settler movement, could emerge as potential stumbling blocks by creating an appearance of bias.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. confirmed that it shares ownership and profits on a New Jersey apartment building with the Kushner Companies. Harel informed The Associated Press of the joint investment and said it had not previously announced it publicly. In addition, the Kushner Companies confirmed longstanding relationships with two major Israeli banks that have been investigated by U.S. authorities for allegedly helping wealthy clients evade U.S. taxes.

"Financial investments in Israel would seem to only further complicate conflicts of interest issues," said Larry Noble, senior director of regulatory programs and general counsel at Campaign Legal Center, a group that advocates for strong enforcement of campaign finance laws.

Jared Kushner headed the billion-dollar family firm before joining the White House as a senior adviser in January. As a condition to taking the job, Kushner has agreed to file a financial disclosure report and divest some holdings that could create a conflict of interest.

The Trump administration has faced repeated conflict of interest accusations since taking office. Although the billionaire real estate magnate says he's no longer managing his global financial interests, critics say these businesses still stand to profit from the prestige or policy decisions of the presidency. In addition, they note that Trump's children continue to manage many of these ventures, opening the door for the president to continue to wield his clout behind the scenes.

While Kushner's role in Mideast diplomacy remains unclear, Trump has said his son-in-law will work to "broker a Middle East peace deal."

Last week, Jason Greenblatt, a White House envoy who reports to Kushner, paid his first official visit to the region, holding a series of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials on what was billed as a listening tour to sound out the sides.

As the U.S. pushes forward, Kushner's family's business and personal ties to Israel have raised questions over his ability to mediate.

"Of course the Palestinians are not happy dealing with Jared Kushner ... but they have no other options," said Palestinian political analyst Jehad Harb.

"Kushner and the whole new American team assigned to handle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ... have very close ties with settlements (and) it's unlikely they are going to understand the Palestinian demand of dismantling most of the Jewish settlements, but the Palestinian Authority cannot say no at this stage."

Indeed, Palestinian officials appear very mindful about alienating the new U.S. administration with going public with grievances about a feared bias. And they seem genuinely relieved in recent weeks to be in contact with various U.S. envoys and at signs the administration is moving away from early positions that pleased Israeli nationalists, such as the notion of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The newly disclosed deal with Harel, one of Israel's biggest financial groups, was for a multifamily residential building in New Jersey with Kushner, the Israeli insurer said, adding that both companies continue to collect tenants' rent payments.

Harel would not say when the property was purchased, how much it cost or even give its address, though it said it was a "relatively small" investment.

The company, which trades on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, managed some $50 billion in assets as of the end of 2015, according to its website.

Harel said it has also partnered with Kushner on a much larger deal: A consortium of lenders that provided some $50 million to the Chetrit Group and JDS Development, two New York real estate firms that are trying to build a 73-story residential tower that aims to be Brooklyn's tallest. The loan was repaid and "yielded a handsome profit," Harel said in a statement.

"As is known, Kushner (Companies) are experienced and knowledgeable with proven ability in deals in the rental property sector in general and in New Jersey specifically," Harel said.

A Kushner Companies spokeswoman, Risa Heller, said the loan for the Brooklyn project was paid off, but she declined to say if Jared Kushner has sold his interest in the New Jersey property. Jamie Gorelick, an attorney who has advised Kushner on conflict of interest matters, referred questions to Heller.

The Kushner Companies also confirmed having a "longstanding relationship" with two major Israeli banks, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi, but wouldn't elaborate. Both banks declined to comment.

The Trump administration has inherited a Justice Department investigation into allegations that Bank Hapoalim helped American clients evade taxes, and the bank could reach a settlement in the case as early as this year. Bank Leumi also allegedly helped U.S. customers evade U.S. taxes from 2002-2010, and reached a settlement with the Justice Department in 2014 to pay $400 million to the U.S. government.

There is no evidence that Kushner Companies was connected to either investigation, and the Justice Department declined to comment.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not answer specific questions about Jared Kushner's ties to Israeli business partners. "Mr. Kushner will comply with financial disclosure and ethics requirements, including the obligation to recuse from particular matters involving specific parties if a reasonable person would question his impartiality," she said in an email statement.

Kushner is covered by government conflict of interest laws, so he is required to divest himself of any financial interests that may present a conflict and must not participate in any matter that has a direct effect on his financial holdings.

While Kushner has divested himself of some financial interests, the assets were put in a trust run by relatives, presenting the potential for a conflict of interest, said Noble, the campaign finance advocate.

He said the Justice Department investigation into Bank Hapoalim is "especially problematic" if Kushner or the White House in any way influence the inquiry.

Kushner's business ties are just one of the potential pitfalls to his diplomatic career.

Trump's son-in-law was also co-director of a family foundation that donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jewish settlement groups in the West Bank, according to U.S. tax records. The family also donated at least $298,600 to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, an organization that runs educational and cultural programs for Israeli soldiers, between 2010 and 2012, according to the tax records.

Palestinians and most of the international community consider Jewish settlements to be obstacles to peace because they are built on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that Palestinians want for a future state. The Palestinians also revile the Israeli military after decades of bloodshed.

Kushner and his family also have longstanding personal ties to Netanyahu. At a White House news conference last month, Netanyahu joked that he has known Kushner since he was a boy.

Zalman Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and co-chairman of an Israeli real estate fund that counts Kushner's father, Charles, among its backers, said he doesn't know Jared Kushner personally but thinks his affiliations to Israel will be helpful in peace negotiations.

"There's trust. When there's trust on one side, there can also be a more conciliatory attitude on that side," Shoval said.

Prominent Palestinian politician Jibril Rajoub told foreign reporters that Trump made clear to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent phone call that he was his "strategic partner" in making a "real and serious" peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

"There is very, very positive progress," Rajoub said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-son...085428283.html

There is betting going on all over this country on sports events - apparently it is legal or sort of legal in some states.

Again, I think this was either a case of not paying off the right people OR could it have been because it was in Trump Tower and therefore could be used either as a ruse to 'accidentally' catch some things through wiretapping going on with Trump? Could it have been they did this to be able to connect Trump to this gambling - and use it as propaganda?

Or all of the above ---

I can't believe we waste precious federal resources on investigations like what was described as going on in the Trump Tower from the rich people money poker games to telephone sports betting. The FBI tapped these people's phones and apartment unit for 2 years. One guy was sentenced 5 years on a plea bargain and another one was sentenced ... 1 year. And the sad thing is no one cares if rich people play money poker in their apartments, who cares? No one cares. And half of the people of the United States are betting on sports of one kind of another. It's a total waste of money and a violation of their rights to play cards, watch sporting events and place wagers on the outcome. It's fun, it's entertainment, best I can tell, it's some type of excitement, something to look forward to, a competition with regards to the cards, a prediction game with regards to the sports. Why would it be illegal in the first place? I don't get it.

Time to review all those laws and get rid of the frivolous investigations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Judy

I can't believe we waste precious federal resources on investigations like what was described as going on in the Trump Tower from the rich people money poker games to telephone sports betting. The FBI tapped these people's phones and apartment unit for 2 years. One guy was sentenced 5 years on a plea bargain and another one was sentenced ... 1 year. And the sad thing is no one cares if rich people play money poker in their apartments, who cares? No one cares. And half of the people of the United States are betting on sports of one kind of another. It's a total waste of money and a violation of their rights to play cards, watch sporting events and place wagers on the outcome. It's fun, it's entertainment, best I can tell, it's some type of excitement, something to look forward to, a competition with regards to the cards, a prediction game with regards to the sports. Why would it be illegal in the first place? I don't get it.

Time to review all those laws and get rid of the frivolous investigations.

---

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring.

So where did their money go that they "forfeited"? Who got it? Sounds like a federal theft ring to me. Did they send it back to Russia? Did they send it to Ukraine? Where did it go? Who got it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Judy

So where did their money go that they "forfeited"? Who got it? Sounds like a federal theft ring to me. Did they send it back to Russia? Did they send it to Ukraine? Where did it go? Who got it?

---

Money ordered forfieted by a federal judge for crimes committed in the U.S. go into the Federal Fines and Forfeitures Account. This money is used for grants to city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Money ordered forfieted by a federal judge for crimes committed in the U.S. go into the Federal Fines and Forfeitures Account. This money is used for grants to city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.

---

Theoretically --- maybe.

Forfeitures in Criminal Sentencing

Where's the Money Go?

The sale proceeds from forfeited real and personal property, or the cash turned over by the defendant, are usually used for law enforcement projects, such as buying new equipment. Some of the money may go into the federal Crime Victims Fund, which is run by the Office for Victims of Crime. Most states have similar funds. These funds provide things like medical services and emergency shelter for victims of crimes.


http://criminal.lawyers.com/criminal...entencing.html

21 U.S. Code § 853 - Criminal forfeitures | US Law | LII / Legal ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/853
(a) Property subject to criminal forfeitureAny person convicted of a violation of this .... the obstruction of justice provision of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.


Rule 32.2 Criminal Forfeiture | Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_32.2
A court must not enter a judgment of forfeiture in a criminal proceeding ... regarding that property under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4 (b). .... Other courts also ask the jury if the defendant has a legal interest in the forfeited property.


18 U.S. Code § 981 - Civil forfeiture | US Law | LII / Legal Information ...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/981
(1) The following property is subject to forfeiture to the United States: .... Notwithstanding the provisions of rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules ofCriminal Procedure, ...


Types Of Federal Forfeiture | AFP | Department of Justice

https://www.justice.gov/afp/types-federal-forfeiture
Feb 1, 2017 - Criminal forfeiture is an action brought as a part of the criminal ... for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, U.S. Department of Justice, ...

That's a federal theft ring. They should have sent the money back to Russia if it was really money laundering of funds obtained illegally in Russia, then that money belongs to people in Russia. Why would the US government prosecute "money laundering" of Russian money, confiscate it through forfeiture and not return it to Russia to whom it belongs?

Because it wasn't money laundering to begin with? Just rich Russians moving their money to the United States to protect it and have some poker and sports betting fun?

This is sickening.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.


ex·tor·tion
ikˈstôrSH(ə)n/
noun

• the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.

rack·et·eer·ing
ˌrakəˈtiriNG/
noun

• dishonest and fraudulent business dealings.
  "racketeering ensnared the economy"

mon·ey laun·der·ing
noun

• the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses.
  "he was convicted of money laundering and tax evasion

Then give the money back to the people it was forced or extorted from, which would be the Russians according to the articles you posted. What kind of sick country has our government made US into that we prosecute other people's criminals to steal their money for ourselves??!!

That is disgusting. If your articles and cases are true in fact, the money isn't ours, it belongs to the people in Russia that was it taken from and laundered here. It's not our money, it's theirs.

U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
(212) 637-2600


April 30, 2014


Two Defendants Sentenced for Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy with Russian-American Organized Crime Enterprise Operating International Sportsbook That Laundered More Than $100 Million

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANATOLY GOLUBCHIK was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court to five years in prison, and VADIM TRINCHER was also sentenced today to five years in prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with their roles as members of a Russian-American organized crime enterprise.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring.

I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in working to ensure that the members of this underground enterprise were held to account for their crimes.”

According to the indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:

The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization (the “Organization”) was a criminal enterprise with strong ties to Russia and Ukraine. The enterprise operated a high-stakes, illegal sports gambling business out of New York City that catered primarily to Russian oligarchs living in Ukraine and Russia.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were U.S.-based participants in the enterprise. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER booked sports bets that reached into the millions of dollars and laundered the proceeds of the Organization’s international sportsbook. Between 2006 and April 2012, the enterprise laundered approximately $100 million in proceeds from their gambling operation in Russia and Ukraine through shell companies and bank accounts in Cyprus; and of this $100 million, approximately $50 million was subsequently sent from Cyprus into the United States.

Once the money had been transferred to the United States, it was either laundered through additional shell companies or invested in legitimate investments, such as hedge funds and real estate.

The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization operated under the protection of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is known as a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law,” that refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from the former Soviet Union. Tokhtakhounov used his status as a Vor to resolve disputes with clients of the high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm. Between December 2011 and February 2013, Tokhtakhounov was paid at least approximately $12 million for his services by the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization. Tokhtakhounov is also under indictment in the Southern District of New York for his alleged involvement in bribing officials at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tokhtakhounov is a fugitive and is still being sought.

***

Twenty-eight defendants in this case have pled guilty and two have entered into deferred prosecution agreements. The defendants who have pled to date have agreed to forfeit, in total, more than $68 million. The following defendants have pled guilty, and have been sentenced or await sentencing:

• Bryan Zuriff pled guilty to gambling charges on July 26, 2013, and was sentenced on November 25, 2013.
• William Barbalat pled guilty to gambling charges on August 14, 2013, and was sentenced on December 16, 2013.
• Kirill Rapoport pled guilty to gambling charges on August 16, 2013, and was sentenced on December 19, 2014.
• Edwin Ting and Justin Smith pled guilty to gambling charges on September 4, 2013, and were sentenced on January 21, 2014, and January 6, 2014, respectively.
• Dmitry Druzhinsky and David Aaron pled guilty to gambling charges on October 4, 2013, and were sentenced on April 18, 2014, and February 14, 2014, respectively.
• Alexander Zaverukha pled guilty to gambling charges on October 10, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2014.
• Nicholas Hirsch pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on October 16, 2013, and was sentenced on February 25, 2014.
• Anatoly Shteyngrob pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering on October 17, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2014.
• Yugeshwar Rajkumar pled guilty to gambling charges on October 18, 2013, and was sentenced on March 25, 2014.
• Stan Greenberg pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on October 22, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
• Arthur Azen pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiring to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means on November 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
• Hillel Nahmad pled guilty to gambling charges on November 12, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
• Vadim Trincher pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 14, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
• Eugene Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 14, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2014.
• Anatoly Golubchik pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 15, 2013, and was sentenced on April 29, 2014.
• Illya Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 15, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2014.
• Ronald Uy pled guilty to structuring financial transactions on November 25, 2013, and was sentenced on March 27, 2014.
• Moshe Oratz pled guilty to gambling charges on December 3, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
• Michael Sall pled guilty to interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity (illegal gambling) and Jonathan Hirsch pled guilty to gambling charges on December 4, 2013. Sall was sentenced on April 18, 2014, and Hirsch is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014.
• Noah Siegel pled guilty to gambling charges on December 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 10, 2014.
• Molly Bloom pled guilty to gambling charges on December 12, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
• Alexander Katchaloff pled guilty to gambling charges on January 16, 2014, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2014.
• Donald McCalmont, John Jarekci, a/k/a “John Hanson,” and Abraham Mosseri pled guilty to making a fraudulent tax statement, to failing to file a tax return, and causing a financial institution to participate in a lottery related matter, respectively, on January 24, 2014, and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, May 28, 2014, and May 21, 2014, respectively.
• William Edler and Peter Feldman entered into deferred prosecution agreements on April 11, 2014.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harris M. Fischman, Joshua A. Naftalis, Peter J. Skinner, and Kristy J. Greenberg of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant
U.S. Attorney Alexander Wilson of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field...an-100-million

Feds arrest nine members of a Brooklyn-based Russian criminal enterprise

BY JOHN MARZULLI
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 4:30 PM

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...-mob1-1109.jpgFederal agents arrested nine members of a Brooklyn-based Russian organized crime syndicate on Wednesday.

(OBTAINED BY NEWS)
Federal agents arrested nine reputed members of a Brooklyn-based Russian organized crime syndicate Wednesday with close ties to an underworld group in Eastern Europe known as Thieves in Law, authorities said.

A 10-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court charges them with racketeering, extortion, loansharking, marijuana trafficking and illegal gambling.

"The defendants, all of whom are members of the transnational enterprise, report abroad to high-ranking organized crime members living in Eastern Europe," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Jacobs and Andrey Spektor stated in court papers.

The Thieves in Law helped the Brooklyn mobsters collect extortion debts from victims living outside the U.S., the prosecutors stated.

Russia celebrates as Trump takes White House on Election Day

One victim who owed the Brooklyn mobsters $200,000 was tracked down in Israel and other family members were in Russia with the help of the Thieves.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...-mob2-1109.jpgThe mobsters are expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday afternoon.
(OBTAINED BY NEWS)

The Brooklyn mobsters operated in Coney Island and Brighton Beach, sources said. High-stakes poker games were set up at a building on Coney Island Ave. which from the outside appeared to be an auto leasing and private security business.

One defendant, Aleksey Tsvetkov, was previously convicted of racketeering in 2005 and deported to the Ukraine. But Tsvetkov was allowed to return to the U.S. and granted asylum after claiming that he was tortured when he returned to his homeland.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, and the NYPD also busted Leonid Gershman, Renat Yusufov, Igor Krugly, Vyacheslav Malkeyev, Isok Aronov, Yusuf Pardilov, and Librado Rivera.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2865940