Naples Man Indicted Over Money Laundering Related To Online Gambling

Gambling News - March 1st, 2010 - Written By Glen

A 39-page complaint has recently been filed with the U.S. District Court of Fort Myers outlining the allegations against Michael Olaf Schuett of Naples. His crime? Payment processing for online gambling enterprises.

Schuett, a German National, is currently being held in the Lee County Jail. Being that his visa was set to expire in April, he is being held without bond. On Monday, a federal judge ruled that Schuett was a potential flight risk.

The federal investigation was launched in response to bank employees tipping off authorities over multiple large transactions processed through MCM Capital Management, Schuett's company. Many large checks were cut, and when they were being cashed, the holders explained that these were gambling winnings from online poker sites. Bank tellers also allegedly watched as millions of dollars in wire transfers had been processed into and out of Schuett's accounts.

Suspicion had also arisen from the fifty plus packages being mailed directly from his home on a daily basis. According to a federal complaint, over 150 parcels had been mailed a week. When opened by FedEx employees, many of the parcels were found to contain a check.

Nine bank accounts were seized under different company names, including MI Global Inc., South Naples Escrow Co., Southwest Florida Payroll Co., Woodhouse Systems, Mathew's Trade Corp, and Internet Payment Services, Internet Payment Services Group Inc., and MCM Capital Management Corp.

The investigation found that roughly 40 Bank of America accounts had been opened in the past three years, and nearly $70 million dollars had been processed to 23,000 players.

Throughout 2009, several payment processors had been persecuted over online gambling payments. Hundreds of millions of dollars had been confiscated by the federal government. Under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, processing payments for related to online gambling is illegal. While players are safe through legal online gambling sites, the financial institutions are not.