Bankrupt Poker Processor Tzvetkoff's $50 million Hidden Hoard
November 11, 2010 9:39 amAustralian online tycoon Daniel Tzvetkoff went bankrupt this year and was later arrested by US authorities for running a $550 million illegal poker processing business.
Mr Tzvetkoff, 27, is currently awaiting a court trial in June 2011 on money laundering charges and faces a possible 75 years in jail if found guilty.
However, on August 23rd Tzvetkoff was suddenly released on bail from a US federal prison, amid a flurry of speculation from the media.
The news of his bail was greeted with suspicion, as Tzvetkoff initially had his bail application revoked as he was considered a flight risk.
Now,it seems Tzvetkoff’s mysterious bail may in fact be related to an alleged admission by Tzvetkoff of a secret $50 million hoard he has lying in Las Vegas with Hugo Services.
Apparently, in June 2008 Tzvetkoff set up the payday lender company known as Hugo Services with a $27m loan from another one of his businesses called BT Projects. The investment climbed to around $50 million by March 2009, when Tzvetkoff closed the company with the accounts remaining untouched ever since. The FBI are also investigating various offshore bank accounts which they believe may hold more of Tzvetkoff’s hidden millions.
The revelation about the massive hidden stash will certainly come as music to the ears of the FBI, who are eager to recover the illegal proceeds of his online empire.
In the meantime, however, they will be keen to seize the funds ahead of a group of top online poker sites who claim Tzvetkoff has $60 million of their money. Tzvetkoff, who filed for bankruptcy in January 2010, has also been sued for $100 Million by former BT business partner, Sam Sciacca, who claims he “diverted funds payable to the company to cover personal expenses”.
Sam Sciacca was not held in any way responsible for the collapse of BT, which went under in July of 2009 with debts of $180 million, and he later commented: “Reputation is everything … I just want to get into court to tell my story.”