FBI agents impersonated repairmen to sidestep US laws in gambling bust
Feds lacking a search warrant impersonated repairmen to get into Las Vegas villas of eight men accused of running illegal gambling ring
US federal agents turned off internet access to three luxury villas used by an alleged Asian gambling kingpin and his associates, then posed as repairmen to get inside and collect evidence in an investigation into online sports betting, defence lawyers say.
The FBI employed the ruse at a Las Vegas hotel against the recommendation of an assistant US prosecutor, Kimberly Frayn, according to lawyers for four of eight men charged in the case. They have filed a court motion to dismiss evidence in the case.
Under US law, authorities need a warrant to inspect a person's property. Evidence collected improperly is not admissible at trial.
A Las Vegas grand jury in July indicted Malaysian Paul Phua Wei-seng, 50, his son Darren Phua Wai-kit, 22, fellow Macau junket operator Richard Yong Seng-chen, 56, his son Yong Wai-kin, 22, and four others for allegedly running an illegal international betting scheme worth billions of Hong Kong dollars during the soccer World Cup.
Phua and Yong are prominent figures in "high-roller" poker circles around the world, from Macau to Monte Carlo. Phua is said to be a leading figure behind the online betting website IBCBet, based in the Philippines.
The case was at least the third to surface in recent weeks that raised questions about the tactics of US federal agents in criminal investigations. In one, the Drug Enforcement Administration set up a fake Facebook account using photographs it took from the cellphone of a New York woman arrested in a cocaine case, in the hope of tricking her associates into revealing incriminating secrets.
The eight men came to the attention of authorities in late June after they requested "an unusually large amount of electronics equipment and technical support". An electrical engineer employed at the hotel advised its security personnel that the equipment in one of the villas "appeared to be set up for an illegal gambling operation".
FBI agents worked with a hotel computer contractor and the state's gaming control board to shut off the internet at different times, and at one point delivered a laptop computer to try to see what was happening, according to the court filing. Investigators eventually gained access after they turned off the internet connection to two suites, impersonated repair technicians and recorded video inside. Authorities later used the videos to obtain a warrant to arrest the men.
In the criminal complaint, federal agents said the videos showed evidence of an illegal online sports-gambling operation being run out of the villas.
Defence lawyer Thomas Goldstein said: "They were trying everything they could to get inside without a warrant."
All eight men face charges of transmitting betting information and operating an illegal gambling business. None of the defendants have entered a plea, but Goldstein said on Tuesday that they all denied any wrongdoing.
Paul Phua also faces charges of running an illegal sports-gambling business in Macau.
He was arrested there on June 18 and flew to Las Vegas a few days later.
