After several exchange of motions, objections and evidence hearings in the illegal sports betting case centered on Wei Seng “Paul” Phua illegal sports betting case, his defense attorneys in Las Vegas are now trying to get the charges dismissed.
Attorneys David Chesnoff and Thomas Goldstein also asked U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon to end pre-trial GPS monitoring and let their client travel abroad, in time for his 51st birthday.
“He is not a flight risk and has had the courage to remain and fight for his liberty,” attorneys Chesnoff and Goldstein said in an email Tuesday.
The request came a week after Gordon ruled that federal prosecutors couldn’t use evidence obtained from Phua’s Las Vegas Strip suite and that the FBI had violated Phua’s privacy rights in pulling off their investigative tricks.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden declared that the case isn’t over but declined to respond to the requests made by the defense in two court filings Friday.
“This is an active criminal case and is still being litigated,” Bogden said. “Therefore, we will not be making any comments on the case other than in our court filings.”
The defense also asked the judge to specify what evidence the government still has that proves Phua operated an illegal gambling business and unlawfully transmitted bets and wagers on World Cup soccer matches last June and July.
“We are asking the government to provide us with facts so we can fairly defend ourselves,” Chesnoff and Goldstein said.
The attorneys, in a separate filing, note that following Phua’s arrest on July, he posted his $50 million private jet plus $2 million cash as collateral to be freed from custody and it is unnecessary to prohibit Phua from visiting his family and home in the interim.
Phua is expected to stand trial beginning on June 1.
