US gambling case towards Paul Phua Wei-Seng was done away with on Monday after most of the evidence against this businessman from Malaysia and high roller gambler was tossed out by a federal judge. This US District Judge, Andrew Gordon declared that most of the evidence obtained by the FBI for this case was not going to be used by the federal prosecutors. This is because they used subterfuge to acquire access to his hotel room and this went against the Fourth Amendment of the US constitution.
There were two different judges who made a ruling that this was the same case in a couple of decisions that dated back to January 2015. Prosecutors asked the evidence to be reinstated but the ruling made by Judge Gordon has tarnished their hopes. With the inadmissible bulk of evidence, the prosecutors did not have any choice but to set Paul Phua free.
July 2014, was when Paul Phua was arrested at Caesars Palace with other 6 Malaysian Men. This included Phua’s 22 year old son, Darren Phua. The attendants noticed suspicious activities in 3 suites and reported the incident to the management. The management later informed the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The agents from the Control Board coordinated with the FBI to carry out investigations and asked the hotel internet service providers to shut down the internet in these suites. Phua sought for assistance and FBI agents attended to the call guised as the technicians. After seeing what was going on, they obtained a search warrant and raided the suites arresting the men.
All 6 men were arrested and pleaded guilty in 5 cases which saw them deported back to Malaysia. Phua’s son reportedly pleaded guilty because he was said to have grown homesick for Malaysia. With the use of his Vegas based lawyers, Paul Phua won the case and his $2 million bail, his $48 million private jet and passport will be returned to him.
Paul Phua Career
Paul Phua is known as a high roller bettor in poker. Phua is said to be worth between $300 and $400 million. He is said to make his money in two ways. One way would be through his junket operations in Macau. In estimations it’s said that the junket operators made $200 billion per year in the peak years for Macau.
Another source of his wealth would be in an online sportsbook that he was said to operate in the earlier years of his career. About 5 years ago, he made his name as an astute bettor and player in high stake cash games in Las Vegas. While at it, he became friends with some of the top players in the world.
This article is published in: News
Tags: Casino, Las Vegas, poker
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