Gal Yifrach, Hustler Live Reg, Indicted for Alleged Illegal Gambling & Money Laundering
3 minutes
Last Updated: March 27, 2022
The California poker community was shocked just days ago as a federal indictment against poker pro Gal Yifrach and his alleged partner Shalom Ifrah was made public. The pair were indicted on two felony counts.
According to the indictment, which is detailed in an 11-page document, the two ran an illegal gambling operation and conspired to launder money, the proceeds of the illegal gambling ring.
Gal became known to the wider poker community for his involvement in the streamed poker games such as Live at the Bike and Hustler Casino Live, whose popularity dramatically grew over the last few years.
His loose play and aggressive playing style made Gal well liked among the fans, and his game appears to be bringing him steady profits at the felt.
Yet, if the indictment is true, the bulk of Gal’s profits in life were coming from illegal activities he was involved in.
Should the alleged crimes prove to be true, Yifrach could be facing up to five years in prison for the illegal gambling operation, and up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit money laundering, a serious crime in the US criminal code.
The Alleged Crimes in Detail
According to the indictment that has come to light, Yifrach and Ifrah stand accused of operating an illegal video slot machines business in the state of California.
On top of that, the pair is accused of laundering the proceeds of this illegal business.
This was done in part by exchanging the money for casino chips, playing with them, and then turning them back into clean cash they could report to the authorities as winnings from their own gambling activities.
The indictment lists a number of locations from which Yifrach collected the illegal gambling proceeds before taking the cash to other locations across California, cleaning the money, and depositing it into his bank accounts.
The indictment comes as a result of a long investigation, which started with someone tipping off the feds about the alleged illegal gambling ring. After this, the feds starting to monitor Yifrach’s communications.
On multiple occasions, electronic messages between the two partners were intercepted, Thse often detailed the transactions and even mentioned money laundering and the various methods to commit it in much detail.
If the details of the indictment are true, it would appear that it will be difficult for the defendants to prove their innocence in front of the court.
Yet, it remains to be seen how much of the gathered evidence will be usable in court and whether Gal and Shalom will try to strike a plea agreement before taking the case into open court.
Who is Gal Yifrach?
If you are not familiar with Gal Yifrach just yet, you probably haven’t been watching the live streams coming out of the California live poker scene in recent months.
Gal has become quite a celebrity in these circles, often appearing on Hustler Casino Live and Live at the Bike and playing an aggressive game of poker which has made him one of the fan favorites.
Gal has also proven himself to be a great tournament player, winning a gold bracelet at the 2018 World Series of Poker $3,000 Six Max NLH event, along with a number of other significant results at the Series.
Just last winter, Yifrach came third in the $50,000 High Roller at the WSOP for nearly $500,000, which took his total live tournament cashes to just over $2,000,000.
Now, Gal’s poker career is threatened by the pending indictment, which could see him take an unexpected break from poker and other activities.
This would be a significant disappointment for the thousands of fans who have grown accustomed to seeing him battle it out with the best poker players around on a weekly basis.