Plea deal nixed in PokerTribes creator Fred Khalilian's murder-for-hire case

Posted on: June 15, 2024 14:33 PDT

A federal judge in Nevada has rejected a plea deal reached between prosecutors and defense counsel in the murder-for-hire case involving Fereidoun 'Fred' Khalilian, the creator of the PokerTribes.com and PokerTribe.com online-poker projects that siphoned a combined $20 million in investment funds away from two Oklahoma tribal nations last decade.

Khalilian faces more than 20 years in prison after being arrested last June for attempting to arrange the murder of a documentary filmmaker, Juan Esco, who has been building a story about the self-aggrandized 'Prince Fred'. The film will tour Khalilian's failed online-gambling projects, other investment schemes of dubious legitimacy that land Khalilian in trouble with federal agencies, his occasionally violent past, his false claims of being of royal blood, and more.

The charges against Khalilian also include witness tampering. Khalilian, through intermediaries, has allegedly attempted to encourage the former bodyguard he allegedly hired to kill Esco. The bodyguard, Michael Sherwood, instead notified Esco of Khalilian's plot and joined Esco in reporting the matter to the FBI while also creating a fake murder scene for Khalilian as evidence of a deed done.

Hearing called after judge notified of potential plea change

Court records show that presiding federal judge Richard F. Boulware, II called for a June 7 'change of plea' hearing after being notified of a deal reached between prosecutors and Khalilian's public defenders. A source with direct knowledge of the proceedings told PokerOrg that the potential deal called for Khalilian to be released with a time-served sentence and other conditions; he has been jailed without bond for just over one year, to date.

PokerOrg also obtained a jailhouse recording, purported to have been made on June 6, in which Khalilian expresses his relief and gratitude while expecting the deal to be done "tomorrow" while also thanking his supporters and friends. Instead, according to the source, Judge Boulware purportedly rejected the proposed plea deal as being too lenient. Khalilian was returned to prison, while Judge Boulware called for a pre-sentencing report (PSR) to be completed pending a different deal or other developments in the case.

Khalilian's potential change of his initial not-guilty plea to either a guilty or no-contest plea remains a strong possibility for the case's resolution, though it appears the judge will require additional time served as a part of any new deal. Prosecutors could also opt to drop the existing charges, though that seems unlikely, and if a deal acceptable to the judge cannot be reached, then a jury trial would proceed.

The transcript of the June 7 plea hearing has been uploaded into the docket for Khalilian's case, but it currently remains under seal. However, its existence, along with the lack of an entry indicating a plea had been accepted by the court, is further evidence of the judge's rejection of the time-served agreement.