Justin "Boosted J" Smith Gets 2 Years Probation

Being a professional poker player, Justin “Boosted J” Smith is used to tense situations and close calls, but nonetheless the 26 year-old California resident will be mighty relieved to receive just two years probation after initially facing a possible 10 years behind bars.
The high-stakes grinder may have earned $2,149,387 playing live poker tournaments, as well as a small fortune competing in cash games with buy-ins as high as $4,000/$8,000, but apparently Justin Smith still felt compelled to top up his coffers further by becoming involved in a Russian mob related illegal sports bets operation that was shut down by FBI agents at the beginning of 2013.
As FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos explained at the time: “Today’s charges demonstrate the scope and reach of Russian organized crime. One of the principal defendants is a notorious Russian ‘thief-in-law’ allegedly directing an international conspiracy through Cyprus to the U.S. The defendants are alleged to have handled untold millions in illegal wagers placed by millionaires and billionaires, laundered millions, and in some cases are themselves multimillionaires. Crime pays only until you are arrested and prosecuted.”
For his part, Justin “Boosted J” Smith pleaded guilty on September 4th to “taking payment for internet gambling,” and after sweating the possibility of facing a decade in prison, the high-stakes poker pro managed to avoid jail time after being handed down two years probation, including three months home detention monitoring, in addition to 200 hours of community service. Furthermore, Smith has already agreed to forfeit $500,000 as part of his guilty plea.
However, Justin Smith was not the only poker player to be charged following the FBI bust, with other pros named in the indictment including Abe Mosseri, Edward Ting, Vadim Trincher, Bill Edler, Peter Feldman, Arthur Azen and John Hanson. Incredibly, even mixed martial arts fighters (MMA) were used to collect unpaid gambling debts, and  apparently NYPD decided to intervene when they became worried that one person who owed $40,000 would be injured by the debt collectors.