Legendz Founder Bartice "Luke" King Sentenced to Probation

**Optional** · 05-13-17, 01:53 PM

The judges in all these cases were mocking and taking shots at the govt case all through this.

Got to love the way the defense describes King as honest and hard working in that finding!

If you really want to some "legal laughs" you should read the judgement in the forfeiture trial.

Just skip to anywhere in the 100 odd pages and you will find the judge making wise cracks about how bad the govt case is.

Casetext

https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-1-bartice-a-luke-king-8-kory-elwin-koralewski-24-paul-francis-tucker-27-leon-mark-moran-29-luis-robles-52-zapt-elec-sales-inc

**Roscoe_Word** · 05-13-17, 01:54 PM

"Racketeering" sounds a little harsh for runnin a book, no?

**MBENZ** · 05-13-17, 02:00 PM

Glad to hear he got next to nothing.That was a good book that didn't f around with paying.Hated to see them go down.

**Otters27** · 05-13-17, 02:09 PM

All these guys are criminals. Greed

**Optional** · 05-13-17, 02:16 PM

Think you might be wrong about this guy Otters. Dont know if he was a saint or not but he had a good legal business, and always paid customers, and through years of cases and thousands of pages of judgements there has hardly been a bad word said about him by a judge. The govt wanted hundreds a millions forfeited and the 12.5 ordered was an official slap in the face to them.

Originally posted by Roscoe_Word

"Racketeering" sounds a little harsh for runnin a book, no?

Guy had a real legal bricks and mortar betting shop business in Panama like William Hill does in the UK.

Just had runners and serviced locals like other offshores at the time and the govt tried to make an example of him.

It's good that he will have his life back within a few years.

**Roscoe_Word** · 05-13-17, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by Optional

Think you might be wrong about this guy Otters. Dont know if he was a saint or not but he had a good legal business, and always paid customers, and through years of cases and thousands of pages of judgements there has hardly been a bad word said about him by a judge. The govt wanted hundreds a millions forfeited and the 12.5 ordered was an official slap in the face to them.

Guy had a real legal bricks and mortar betting shop business in Panama like William Hill does in the UK.

Just had runners and serviced locals like other offshores at the time and the govt tried to make an example of him.

It's good that he will have his life back within a few years.

**Otters27** · 05-13-17, 02:28 PM

Is 5 dimes in any trouble?

**Optional** · 05-13-17, 03:18 PM

Originally posted by Otters27

Is 5 dimes in any trouble?

I'm pretty sure they are not Otters.

I think they are probably under more pressure making money transfers than they have been in past years but they seem to be battling through it very well to me.

**autiger** · 05-13-17, 04:51 PM

Another colossal waste of taxpayer money. Judge sent the keystone cops of Oklahoma City a message.....be prepared with a real case when you show up in my courtroom. Maybe the Oklahoma City fbi office will go after some real criminals.....then again maybe not....they have guns.

**TheMoneyShot** · 05-13-17, 05:14 PM

What did he have to pay? 12 million?

Shoot... I'd pay 12 million to make sure I didn't go to jail for life.

**RoyBacon** · 05-13-17, 05:44 PM

Originally posted by TheMoneyShot

What did he have to pay? 12 million?

Shoot... I'd pay 12 million to make sure I didn't go to jail for life.

Yep $12mil which coincidentally is the amount of his seized bank account and his cash bond added together.

The Gov had a massive hardon for him it seems. They seized all of his boots something like 40 pairs and all kinds of personal property. The Gov stated they expected to seize $1.2 billion. They ended up with about $30 million and not a single day of jail time in the sentencing.

Should also be noted that the US was reprimanded by the judge and one US attorney received a court censure.

**DroopyDog** · 05-13-17, 06:43 PM

he wasnt facing life in jail.. he was facing 3 to 5

if that 12 million was every penny I had... Id say, ill take the 3 to 5

**reigle9** · 05-13-17, 07:03 PM

Originally posted by DroopyDog

he wasnt facing life in jail.. he was facing 3 to 5

if that 12 million was every penny I had... Id say, ill take the 3 to 5

^
never been in jail

**DroopyDog** · 05-13-17, 08:40 PM

never had 12 million either... but not like he was facing max security

**nyplayer33** · 05-13-17, 11:22 PM

Utter nonsense the USA has become

**Craig22** · 05-13-17, 11:34 PM

Originally posted by reigle9

^
never been in jail

^ Never been to jail in a 3rd world country- Would rather be in a zoo

**Craig22** · 05-13-17, 11:36 PM

Where's the lawsuit against the founders of Lock Poker? They stole like 10 million.

**Ralphie Halves** · 05-14-17, 12:07 AM

Legendz always a solid book. Super vanilla, but always paid well and CS did their job.

Guy just got a touch sloppy.

**nymfan99** · 05-14-17, 03:13 AM

How much was he worth? 12MIL everything he had? Or just part?

**TheMoneyShot** · 05-14-17, 04:29 AM

Originally posted by DroopyDog

he wasnt facing life in jail.. he was facing 3 to 5

if that 12 million was every penny I had... Id say, ill take the 3 to 5

Originally posted by reigle9

^
never been in jail

If the govt wants you away... they will put you away. I'm sure the court docs are extensive... didn't read em... but I would only assume his attorneys knew what he was dealing with and they made the offer for him. Knowing... that it could be an extensive jail sentence. Court cases get very dirty... especially when you made a wrong turn... and down the wrong path during the preliminary hearings. Kudos to his team that offered a money settlement for no jail time. Sometimes... you don't even get an opportunity like that.

**Optional** · 05-14-17, 08:42 AM

Originally posted by TheMoneyShot

If the govt wants you away... they will put you away. I'm sure the court docs are extensive... didn't read em... but I would only assume his attorneys knew what he was dealing with and they made the offer for him. Knowing... that it could be an extensive jail sentence. Court cases get very dirty... especially when you made a wrong turn... and down the wrong path during the preliminary hearings. Kudos to his team that offered a money settlement for no jail time. Sometimes... you don't even get an opportunity like that.

How do you figure that from this story? The govt sure wanted this guy bad... how come he is not put away??

The Govt wanted 4 years jail plus around 300 million from him. There was no deal like you describe TMS.

One judge said "piss off US Govt, the hundreds of millions you are asking for is a joke. The max i can justify is 12.5mil"

Then a couple of months later another judge said, "piss off US Govt, the jail time you are asking for is a joke. Max I can justify is probation".

**PatrickSarni** · 05-14-17, 09:08 AM

What happened to Greg Roberts the tout that was indicted in this roundup? He was the tout that owned consensus900.com that was collecting fees for his crappy picks and also double dipping getting a percentage of the clients losses that signed up and bet with Legendz.

**PanamaBrad** · 05-14-17, 09:13 AM

Not even mentioned is all the good people in Pan that lost their jobs as a result of this travesty.

**TheMoneyShot** · 05-14-17, 09:31 AM

Originally posted by Optional

How do you figure that from this story? The govt sure wanted this guy bad... how come he is not put away??

The Govt wanted 4 years jail plus around 300 million from him. There was no deal like you describe TMS.

One judge said "piss off US Govt, the hundreds of millions you are asking for is a joke. The max i can justify is 12.5mil"

Then a couple of months later another judge said, "piss off US Govt, the jail time you are asking for is a joke. Max I can justify is probation".

There's a lot that goes into a court case. I had no idea they were asking for 300 million. Clearly that's absurd. Some of these guys who get involved in a mess like this don't even have the funds to pay 12 million. You'd think they would... but they don't. Some of these yahoos buy things on credit... and don't really have any assets. So... my point is... don't you think it's fair paying 12 million for no jail time? I do. What if the guy didn't have a penny to his name? He'd be serving about 8 years +.

Like I said... I didn't read the court docs.

**SBR Forum** · 05-14-17, 09:50 AM

Originally posted by PatrickSarni

What happened to Greg Roberts the tout that was indicted in this roundup?.

He pleaded guilty and received one year's probation.

**Bigbill365** · 05-14-17, 09:51 AM

Legends was tied to so some mobsters wouldn't surprise if the guy snitched on some people to get a better deal don't believe everything you read guy probally rolled on 100 people. snitched on some people -1000000

**Optional** · 05-14-17, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by TheMoneyShot

There's a lot that goes into a court case. I had no idea they were asking for 300 million. Clearly that's absurd. Some of these guys who get involved in a mess like this don't even have the funds to pay 12 million. You'd think they would... but they don't. Some of these yahoos buy things on credit... and don't really have any assets. So... my point is... don't you think it's fair paying 12 million for no jail time? I do. What if the guy didn't have a penny to his name? He'd be serving about 8 years +.

Like I said... I didn't read the court docs.

The money part was under forfeiture laws and in a different court months ago. It had no bearing on the criminal sentencing.

And although I bet he is pleased there is now an end in sight, I doubt he feels fairly treated.

As far as being a yahoo. Did you see this quote in that SBR article linked in post #1?

"It may seem duplicitous to suggest that someone involved in illegal activities can have a reputation for integrity, fairness, a strong work ethic, and honesty, but there is ample testimony supporting this assessment of Mr. King and no testimony contradicting it."

**RoyBacon** · 05-14-17, 10:06 AM

Originally posted by TheMoneyShot

There's a lot that goes into a court case. I had no idea they were asking for 300 million. Clearly that's absurd. Some of these guys who get involved in a mess like this don't even have the funds to pay 12 million. You'd think they would... but they don't. Some of these yahoos buy things on credit... and don't really have any assets. So... my point is... don't you think it's fair paying 12 million for no jail time? I do. What if the guy didn't have a penny to his name? He'd be serving about 8 years +.

Like I said... I didn't read the court docs.

Actually, it came up that the US forced him to trial with a near max sentence offer. There was no fine only a forfeiture proceeding which was done before sentencing. In Luke's case he was found not guilty of the RICO charge even though his team was mostly convicted of the same in separate trials. It was widely thought despite beating the Rico rap Luke would do a little time. He did 4 months before bonding out so he did do some. All in all I think it was a fair sentence. The 300+ community hours is a lot, 5 months of home detention is no picnic and losing $12 million leaves a bit of a mark too and of course 60 months of probation is a bit long. But, it was widely thought he could end up with 12-15 yrs in prison and a forfeiture of $50 million+. Beating the RICO charge in a jury trial was a major game changer.

**Reload** · 05-14-17, 10:15 AM

Legendz was a good place. Was sad when the big list of people in trouble came out years ago. Still miss Doc's chats with Loshak, too.

**TheMoneyShot** · 05-14-17, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by RoyBacon

Actually, it came up that the US forced him to trial with a near max sentence offer. There was no fine only a forfeiture proceeding which was done before sentencing. In Luke's case he was found not guilty of the RICO charge even though his team was mostly convicted of the same in separate trials. It was widely thought despite beating the Rico rap Luke would do a little time. He did 4 months before bonding out so he did do some. All in all I think it was a fair sentence. The 300+ community hours is a lot, 5 months of home detention is no picnic and losing $12 million leaves a bit of a mark too and of course 60 months of probation is a bit long. But, it was widely thought he could end up with 12-15 yrs in prison and a forfeiture of $50 million+. Beating the RICO charge in a jury trial was a major game changer.

Thanks for the post and insight.

**katstale** · 05-14-17, 12:39 PM

ALL of the Legends staff were straight up CLASS. The management at their bricks and mortar would let me come in with my laptop and line shop Pinny etc while I was eating their food/beer. Their was always approx. 2 IRS/treasury agents who worked Panama--this was increased to 11 under that scumbag Obama. don't get me started as to what my first home has done to my 2nd. I am still hoping trump will allow me to not be an outlaw in my first home.

**PanamaBrad** · 05-14-17, 12:57 PM

True Story. Kat had finished 3rd in the SBR bash poker tourney. Payout was like $600 via Legends, but we couldn't play there online because we are Panama residents and its against the law. So Legends told kat he could wager the $600 3x at their VIP sportsbook and then cash it out. I was having a beer with him there when he bet it all on Oakland against the Yankees at like +250. I said, "are you crazy?!" He said "its cool i am hedging it against Pinny and I don't ant to take the $600 from Legendz. VIP manage bought us a couple rounds cause we were the only people in the place betting on Oakland. Lpcals had 12k on Yankees (as usual). Well, u guessed it, Oakland wins and the house cleaned up lol. Next night we repeated this. same thing happened. So the next night we came by to pick up the cash and they had no hundreds lololol so they brought out the money to the front and counted it all out in 20's lolol sent 2 security guards with kat and I out to our van. Miss legends VIP sportsbook.

**PatrickSarni** · 05-15-17, 08:32 AM

So does anyone have a list of all those indicted and what there sentences were?

**autiger** · 05-19-17, 12:51 PM

Originally posted by SBR Forum

He pleaded guilty and received one year's probation.

Roberts actually plead to a misdemeanor....the only one that didn't plead to a felony.