Israeli crime world figure helped run illegal high-stakes L.A. poker ring, authorities say - BERITAJA

A man pinch alleged ties to Israeli organized crime helped tally high-stakes forbidden poker games astatine a luxury Encino mansion owned by erstwhile NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, according to authorities and tribunal documents.

Yevgeni Gershman, 50, of Woodland Hills, has agreed to plead blameworthy to 4 national counts including conspiracy to run an forbidden gambling business, migration fraud, money laundering and being a prohibited personification successful possession of firearms, authorities said.

Under a plea agreement, Gershman faces a condemnation of 24 months successful national prison, on pinch 3 years of supervised merchandise and a $50,000 fine.

His sentencing proceeding is scheduled for July 6, according to Ciaran McEvoy, a nationalist accusation serviceman for the U.S. attorney’s agency successful Los Angeles.

Gershman besides has criminal convictions successful Israel, including conspiracy to perpetrate execution and narcotics trafficking, L.A. national prosecutors said successful tribunal filings.

According to prosecutors, Gershman was a cardinal fig successful a gambling cognition that ran retired of a mansion connected Gable Drive successful Encino, wherever organizers hosted high-stakes poker games and took a percent of each pot, known arsenic a “rake.”

The alleged forbidden gambling took spot betwixt September 2021 and July 2022, erstwhile the Encino mansion was rented retired connected a regular ground to big the poker games, according to prosecutors.

Authorities alleged Arenas, 44, rented retired the location while Gershman and alleged co-conspirators Evgeni Tourevski, Allan Austria and Yarin Cohen managed operations, recruited players and staffed the events pinch dealers, chefs, valets and equipped security, according to tribunal documents.

Arenas and the different co-defendants person pleaded not blameworthy and are scheduled for proceedings connected May 5, McEvoy said.

According to tribunal documents, Gershman allegedly hired young women to service drinks, supply massages and connection “companionship” to players, and charged them a percent of their earnings.

He besides allegedly sent coded matter messages to women inviting them to activity the forbidden poker games — successful 1 lawsuit asking if a female was unfastened to engaging successful adultery astatine the house.

Prosecutors besides alleged that Gershman’s migration fraud went beyond mendacious statements connected authorities forms.

According to the original indictment, Gershman was accused of colluding pinch co-defendant Valentina Cojocari, 35, of Woodland Hills, to participate into a sham marriage to get a greenish card, paying her financially successful speech for her participation.

The blameworthy plea carries terrible migration consequences for Gershman, who entered the United States connected a tourer visa successful 2021. His plea statement states that deportation backmost to Israel is “practically inevitable” and that he whitethorn beryllium permanently barred from returning to the U.S.

The lawsuit was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Section and IRS Criminal Investigation.