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US Lawyer Uses Fraud for Gains at Online Casino

The US has been in the news a great deal these past few months as the UIGEA has taken hold. The UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, forbids financial establishments from transferring money from online casino players to bank or online casino accounts. Online casinos fans who reside in the US are very upset about this new law, and many hope that the new US Congress will reverse this block on one of their favorite pastimes.

Recently, another story has made headlines concerning a US lawyer and the online casino industry. The lawyer, Jennifer Ann Wenger, aged 53, has been accused of embezzling more than US 900,000 dollars from the estate of Goldie Carlova while serving as the court appointed conservator and administrator of her estate from October 13th, 2004 to February 28th, 2005. Wenger is charged with 73 counts of grand theft, as well as enhancements of committing aggravated white collar crime worth over US 500,000 dollars. She is also accused of causing more than US 150,000 dollars in property damage. Wenger allegedly stole the money to play at online casino sites.

If she is convicted, this US lawyer faces up to 56 years in prison, according to Susan Schroeder of the Orange County, California District Attorney’s Office. Wenger’s bail has been set at US 1 million dollars, and her arraignment has been postponed until Tuesday. Wenger will lose a lot more than she might have at the online casino because of these accusations and possible imprisonment. Before Wenger can post bail, she must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source, Schroeder said. Wenger allegedly wrote 65 checks to herself from the estate, as well as deposited eight annuity checks into her personal account. These were to be used in her online casino gambling.

Carlova was to receive these annuity checks while she was alive, but they had continued to be sent by mistake after her death, Schroeder stated. The prosecution will produce evidence to show that most of the embezzled money was put into online casino ‘e- wallets’ in countries overseas by Wenger. This is further proof to the speculation that she used the cash to gamble at online casino sites.

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