Bradley Franzen, one of the 11 people charged last month in the case that shut down U.S. operations for Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, pleaded guilty Monday in Manhattan federal court, admitting he illegally helped link gambling companies with banks to process millions of dollars.
The charges that he pleaded guilty to were: conspiracy to commit bank fraud; accepting funds in connection with illegal gambling; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Franzen said he was contacted in 2009 at his Costa Rica home by an Internet poker company owner who wanted to process checks online. He said he agreed to link online poker companies with banks even though he knew it was illegal.