Hong Kong Officials Busted Paul Phua’s Sports Betting Ring in Their Country, Then Deported Him
Months ago, high stakes poker player Paul Phua was one of eight men arrested in a raid on three suites in Caesars Palace resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Agents from the FBI and the Nevada Gaming Control Board accused the men of operating an illegal sports betting operation whose focus was the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The arrests were made in June. Many stories emerged about Paul Phua and his alleged accomplices in the aftermath of those arrests. It later was confirmed that Phua was one of 17 men who were arrested in Hong Kong the previous month, attempting to run an illegal World Cup sports betting ring. The five Chinese men involved were imprisoned, while the 12 other men were deported. Paul Phua was one of them.
Paul Phua’s Colorful Life History
Other stories focused on the fact Phua was the owner of an online sportsbook which may have netted him as much about $400 million in wealth. The Malaysian national was said to be associated with the 14K triad out of China–a notorious international crime syndicate. It was even learned that the professional poker player had been the non-resident ambassador to Montenegro for the tiny nation of San Marino (population 32,000) for three years. It was clear he had a colorful life.
Much was made about Phua’s poker playing career, both as a tournament-winner player and as a high stakes player. It later emerged that Phua and his son had been bailed out of jail by Phil Ivey and several other professional gamblers, because they were friends from the high stakes ring games they all played. Phua’s $40 million private jet had been used as collateral for bail, and the judge had placed him under house arrest with a local doctor and gambling aficionado. Then it was learned that as soon as Paul Phua and his son, Darren Phua, were released, the U.S. immigration agency (ICE) had detained him again, and was keeping him in custody. No doubt, he was ready to be deported once more.
Paul Phua and 3 Accomplices on Trial
With all that colorful background, now Paul Phua’s trial for running an illegal gambling ring is ready to begin. He will be tried alongside three other men, including his son. That son is claiming he knew nothing about the bookmaker operation. His father was using a laptop registered to Darren’s name because he bought the laptop for his father last Christmas, then set up the laptop for his tech-backward father, as a nice thing to do for him. Superficial evidence suggested that might be the case.
Much speculation has centered around the strategy the defense team will use in the trial. Early speculation was a plea bargain might be reached. It was said that this was supposed to be “one last big score” for Paul Phua, before he retired from the gambling industry–that he was tired of the scramble for money. That might have seemed more like the plot of a Hollywood movie than real life, but it was told on multiple gaming news portals. Later speculation was the son would reach a plea bargain, or the father would take the fall for his son.
Trial Update: FBI and Illegal Consent
In an October 28 update, court documents reveal that FBI agents may have impersonated Geek Squad repairmen to get inside the suites at Caesars Palace and gain evidence on Paul Phua and his accomplices. According to the filings, the FBI wanted enough evidence to get a warrant, so they colluded with hotel security and a local IP server to turn off the suspected sports gambing ring’s computers. When they called for tech assistance, the FBI sent agents out in the disguise of repairmen.
If that proves to be true–and documents indicate a converstation with a US attorney was recorded to that effect–it could do serious damage to the government’s case. Under US law, a person must give consent if authorities search their private quarters without a search warrant. That never happened in this case, so all the evidence obtained by the FBI could be thrown out.
US Attorney’s Case Could Be Fatally Damaged
Under those circumstances, the entire government case falls completely apart. The compelling evidence in the trial certain around the joint search by the Federal Bureau of Investigation officials and Nevada Gaming Control Board agents. Without that evidence, the government has nothing.
Former federal prosecutor Mark Rasch told ABC News that the FBI disguises are problematic, and are likely to be thrown out of court. Rasch said, “Law enforcement is allowed to use a certain amount of subterfuge and what the court has to do here is decide how much is too much. It would be the same thing as turning off the power or turning off the water, and then saying, ‘Oh you invited me in,’ so the key here is consent. There was no actual consent here.“
