Poker NewsMuch more than just a poker blog...
Back in July, Macau high roller and businessman Wei Seng "Paul" Phua was arrested along with his son, Wai Kit "Darren" Phua, Richard Yong and other members from the Macau high stakes scene on the charges of running an illegal sports betting ring. They were arrested at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, but according to new information, the FBI only managed to get evidence against the businessmen by using unlawful methods of getting into the suite.
According to the charges of the FBI, Phua, Yong, and several other Chinese and Malaysian businessmen were making illegal bets on the football World Cup when they were raided. The FBI also claims that Phua is a member of the 14k Triad crime syndicate, which deals with illegal gambling and prostitution.
According to Ars Technica magazine, Phua's lawyers claim that the FBI has arrested their defendant unlawfully. The lawyers claim that in order to get into the suite that Phua and the other businessmen were residing in, the FBI convinced the Caesars management to cut off Phua's internet connection on purpose.
Once this was done, FBI agents disguised as technical support/cable guys infiltrated the suite where they gathered the required evidence for a search warrant.
As one of Phua's lawyers point out, this practice could be extremely dangerous to the public, because it basically allows federal agents to trick people into letting them into their homes by disguising themselves, where they can gather evidence required for a search warrant, which is completely unconstitutional. The only reason Phua ever let the agents enter the suite was because of their disguise.
The video below shows some shots from the investigation, Paul Phua and Richard Yong both make an appearance.
Phua and Yong are currently under house arrest and are tracked with electronic tracking devices, after several high stakes professionals like Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Andrew Robl have paid off their $2 million bail.