A Texas-based online payment processor has agree to hand over $6.27 million to the U.S. government for its involvement in illegal online poker transactions. The processor claims it was duped into its wrongdoings.
Texas-based online payment processor, LST Financial, has agreed to forfeit $6.27 million to the U.S. government for allegedly having processed illegal gambling transactions.
The agreement comes after LST was accused by U.S. authorities for having processed transactions for
PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker before the sites were seized by the Department of Justice on Black Friday in April last year.
LST's director Gregory Colton also promised "not to knowingly provide, either directly or indirectly, payment processing services for Internet gambling, including Internet poker," according to the
NY Post.
In return, the company will get back an unspecified amount of frozen funds that didn't come from illegal betting.
LST admitted no wrongdoing in the case, but claimed that it had been duped into processing players' payments to the three
online poker rooms.
The company was 50 percent owned by Ryan Lang, one of the altogether 11 men, who were indicted as part of the Black Friday proceedings.
Lang himself pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in March this year and received a reduced sentence as part of a settlement deal with U.S. prosecutors.