By JEFF GERMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A reputed ranking member of an Asian crime syndicate has been tied to the World Cup betting ring raided this summer at Caesars Palace, according to evidence seized by the FBI.
Documents obtained by FBI agents show a Macau casino junket company associated with Cheung Chi-Tai — whom authorities have identified as a leader of the Hong Kong-based Wo Hop To Triad — was among several companies the international betting organization is believed to have used to settle up wagers with its wealthy customers.
Among the listed customers were widely known English soccer club owners Matthew Benham and Tony Bloom, who is regarded as one of the biggest sports bettors in the world. The customers were not charged in the case.
During the Las Vegas raid, agents also retrieved photos from a computer of several international passports, including a Hong Kong passport belonging to Cheung, according to an FBI report.
The evidence was part of hundreds of pages of exhibits attached to court papers filed by federal prosecutors defending the July 9 raid at three luxury Caesars Palace villas occupied by eight defendants. Days before the raid,agents enlisted the help of Caesars Palace and one of its Internet contractors to pose as technicians and get a glimpse inside the high-tech gambling operation.
Cheung and his ties to the junket company, Neptune, are well-known to law enforcement authorities in Nevada, Hong Kong and Macau. He has been mentioned in news articles on the crucial role of junket operators in the Macau casino industry, which is well-represented by Las Vegas gaming giants.
Junket operators help casinos attract high rollers, promising them free hotel rooms, travel and other perks.
“We’ve been monitoring (Cheung) for some time,” Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said. “We’re extremely focused on removing any elements of organized crime in Nevada, and we’ve been working very closely with the FBI.”
State gaming agents participated in the Caesars raid.
According to the FBI report, Cheung was identified in 1992 by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as one of nine leaders of the Wo Hop To Triad.
In 2011, according to The Wall Street Journal, a Hong Kong appeals court judgment said Cheung was a triad leader who ordered a subordinate to “injure and later kill” a casino dealer in Macau. Cheung was not charged in the killing, but the subordinate was convicted.
Las Vegas lawyer David Chesnoff, who represents one of the key defendants in the betting case, Paul Phua, denied his client has had any association with Cheung.
“This is just speculation that has nothing to do with Mr. Phua and is only being presented in light of the weakness of the government’s case and the constitutional mistakes made by law enforcement,” Chesnoff said.
Chesnoff also denied that a betting ring existed.
“There is no organization,” he said. “They were high rollers invited to Las Vegas as the guest of a major casino, which has been taking their money for years.”
But in court papers, federal prosecutors said the defendants had requested an “unusual amount of electronics equipment and technical support” for the villas to monitor World Cup soccer games in Brazil.
A Caesars Palace investigator told FBI agents before the raid that in one villa alone there were eight computers, five workstations, more than 20 monitors, and additional large-screen televisions and Internet lines. The resort was asked to issue 19 keys for that villa, which agents said resembled a typical “wire room” associated with an illegal betting operation.
Prosecutors contend Phua, a wealthy Malaysian businessman who frequents poker tables in Macau and Las Vegas casinos, is a ranking “known member” of Hong Kong’s 14K Triad, one of the world’s largest criminal syndicates.
They produced FBI reports in their court filings that show the agents received information from Malaysian authorities in 2009 linking Phua and another key defendant, Richard Yong, to the 14K Triad.
Yong, a Malaysian businessman who runs a junket company in Macau, was described as an associate of the 14K Triad. He provided “front money” for an alleged 14K Triad member’s credit application at The Venetian and MGM Grand, one of the reports alleged. Yong “guaranteed” a $1 million line of credit for the suspected triad member at both The Venetian and MGM Grand.
The crime figure, whose name was removed from the report, was later charged with defrauding the casinos out of $1.3 million in gambling debts. He remains wanted by local authorities in the bad check case.
Yong’s San Diego lawyer, Michael Pancer, said the government has “absolutely no evidence” that Yong is part of a triad.
“He’s not a member of any triad, and he’s not alleged to be a member of any triad,” Pancer said, adding he doesn’t believe the fugitive wanted for passing the bad checks was even a triad member.
Pancer said in court papers that when FBI agents questioned Yong, he denied being a 14K member but admitted he had friends who were members.
Phua, Yong and their 23-year-old sons are free on bail posted by poker star Phil Ivey and other poker professionals.
Prosecutors last week suggested in court papers that Phua used his connections to bribe his way out of Macaufollowing his arrest there in June on organized crime and illegal gambling charges.
After his mysterious release, Phua flew to Las Vegas, where he and seven associates resumed their illegal gambling operation and eventually were taken into custody, prosecutors alleged.
In the documents, prosecutors said text messages collected from his son’s cellphone during the July 9 Caesars raid show that between $4 million and $5 million in Hong Kong dollars, roughly $515,000 to $644,000 in U.S. currency, was paid by Phua “under the table” to get released from custody in Macau.
One June 19 message says that one of the Macau officers who arrested Paul Phua was a friend of his and that “they are negotiating now. Hopefully, they want only money.”
Chesnoff strongly denied the allegations.
Authorities have alleged that the schemes in Macau and Las Vegas involved hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal World Cup wagers. More than 20 other people were arrested with Phua in Macau.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.