Bradley Franzen was one of the unlucky gentlemen that was arrested immediately following the Black Friday indictments. Today, Franzen plead guilty and admitted that he helped Internet poker companies find banks to process millions of dollars in gambling proceeds even though he knew it was illegal.
Franzen pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, accepting funds in connection with illegal gambling and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
As the Washington Post reports, Bradley Franzen also signed a cooperation agreement, agreeing to testify at any trial to result from a government prosecution against any of the three online poker companies named in the indictments.
In the report by the Washington Post, Franzen admitted he illegally helped link gambling companies with banks by using shell companies and phony websites. Additionally, the report indicates that Franzen said he began doing so after he was first contacted in 2009 at his Costa Rica home.
Franzen was contacted by an Internet poker company owner who wanted to process checks online but knew that banks were not doing so and were not permitted to accept the proceeds of Internet gambling. It was Franzen’s job to find a solution, one that has now landed him in hot water with DOJ.
