Online Casino Payment Processor Bail Revoked

Accused money launderer Daniel Tzvetkoff had his newly issued bail revoked by a New York judge who said the online gambling payment handler could not be trusted not to flee prosecution.

A Las Vegas judge's ruling that online casino payment processor Daniel Tzvetkoff could receive bail on the backing of his father's house was reversed as a New York court said Tzvetkoff is a serious flight risk. A new hearing will determine if the accused money launderer and alleged thief of Internet gambling deposits will be allowed monitored home detention, or have to stay behind bars.

Tzvetkoff operated both Merchant Solutions, a billing processor for adult websites, and Intabill, which handled online gambling deposits and payments. He was arrested at a Las Vegas convention after some of his gaming customers, upset about $100 million in missing player deposits, tipped federal authorities to his location.

US charges include bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. The indictment handed down this week by a federal grand jury says Tzvetkoff and his partners used dozens of companies with names unrelated to gambling to disguise gaming payments as payday loans.

"No condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the presence of the defendant as required," said Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in denying bail. Authorities are concerned that Tzvetkoff, an Australian citizen, would flee the country if released from supervision.

If convicted, Tzvetkoff faces up to 75 years in prison. Intabill went insolvent last year with $80 million in debt, but online gambling sources say he has over $100 million stashed that he embezzled from money passing through the conduits he owned.