A Florida man faces fraud and cash laundering fees after native regulation enforcement raided an unlawful poker recreation he ran.
The investigators found he earned a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} for the operation.
James Kerr, 39, was arrested on April 1 by officers with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department and faces three counts of money laundering in extra of $100,000. The recreation was held within the Winter Park space, simply north of Orlando, and the arrest got here after officers performed an undercover investigation.
“We learned that James Kerr was running a big-time operation and making hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd informed FOX-13.
Investigators Say Kerr Concealed Earnings
The division obtained a tip in regards to the high-stakes poker video games and later found Kerr made quite a few transactions involving a number of financial institution accounts. According to investigators, these transactions tried to hide unlawful earnings of greater than $800,000 between 2021 and 2023. He earned $408,878 in 2021 alone.
“Now keep in mind, he’s also a professional gambler,” Judd mentioned. “If you search him up online, you’ll see that he’s won a lot of money legally gambling. But guess what? He became greedy and decided he’d set up his own illegal game and that’s when he got arrested.”
Kerr, a Lakeland native, has greater than $677,000 in match winnings. His greatest win got here in 2021 when he took down a $1,700 no-limit maintain’em occasion on the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic for $228,038. Last October, Kerr gained the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Signature Poker Series for $111,294.
After his first look in court docket, Kerr’s attorneys argued that the state didn’t have possible trigger for the costs.
“He put it inside his own bank accounts,” his lawyer argued, referring to the funds he obtained. “It’s no different than putting your legal gambling debts in a sock. That’s not the laundry, that’s not the wash.”
Judd mentioned the investigation is ongoing, and extra folks could possibly be charged. Illegal playing and betting controversies have been within the information fairly a bit not too long ago. In October, South Korean comic Lee Jin-ho admitted to breaking the nation’s legal guidelines by illegally playing, dropping 1000’s of {dollars} within the course of. Much of that cash was borrowed from family and friends.
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