News

Sunday, 10 October 2010 10:26

The wife of prominent US Democrat, Representative John Tierney is indicted for aiding and abetting her brother's unlawful online gambling operation.

A government that has for many years been thumping the podium about online gambling's evils and working diligently to keep its citizens from enjoying its forbidden fruits, has just shot itself massively in the foot as the wife of one of its representatives is convicted of online gambling crimes. It has come to light that Patrice Tierney was charged with tax fraud by the Department of Justice, as she managed a bank account that was used by Robert Eremian, her brother, who along with another brother Daniel Eremian was indicted for a list of crimes that included violations of the UIGEA in August this year.

Tierney has said that she believed the business run by her brothers sold software licenses to online gambling firms operating legally. She admitted that with regard to the true nature of her brothers' business, she had been “wilfully blind,” after pleading guilty to miscoding certain financial transactions in an attempt to mask their true nature. Those transactions were in fact linked to an online gambling operation that was originating in Antigua.
 
The plot thickens when it turns out that Robert Eremian is no stranger to the unlawful side of the online gambling business. Back in the 1990s, he was up before the Department of Justice where he was forced to strike a deal after having been charged with crimes relating to online gambling. But it doesn't end there.

In July 2006, Massachusetts Rep. Tierney voted against the then proposed UIGEA Bill. It was also in 2006 that Todd Lyons was arrested during operation Sports Offshore, being the second arrest to be made under the UIGEA. It transpires that this case and that are connected with the Eremians also being indicted and charged with gambling offences and UIGEA violations.

The Department of Justice has also noted the connection and points out that this case is considerably more than just a case of the wife of a Congressman committing tax crimes. It is charging that Eremian allegedly used US based agents to recruit customers, collect gambling proceeds and them to his brother in Antigua. Eremian then dispersed millions of illegal gambling dollars through family members. Tierney is implicated for managing the US bank account of Robert Eremian via Bank of America and hiding Eremian’s true income.