A year-and-a-half after allegedly introducing counterfeit chipsinto the opening event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open, Christian Lusardi(pictured) was officially indicted. According to the Press of Atlantic City, on Wednesday, Lusardi “was indicted by an Atlantic County grand jury on charges of second-degree trademark counterfeiting, second-degree attempted theft by deception, and third-degree criminal mischief.” He was originally arrested in January 2014.

The Acting Attorney General in New Jersey commented to the paper, “Lusardi’s alleged scheme to play high-stakes poker with counterfeit chips played out like a Hollywood movie plot. As theatrical as this was, we cannot lose sight of the serious nature of this financial crime. By allegedly betting with phony chips, Lusardi cheated other players and cost the Borgata hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost tournament revenues.”

Lusardi played in the tournament and, after he busted, he reportedly returned to his hotel room at Harrah’s Atlantic City and tried to flush the remaining chips down the toilet, causing $10,000 in damage. As the Press of Atlantic City explained, “Police say he ordered the poker chips over the internet from a Chinese manufacturer and affixed the counterfeit logo stickers to them.”

Lusardi cashed for almost $7,000 in the tournament, which was paused when three tables remained after the bogus chips were discovered. Meanwhile, Lusardi was jailed in April 2015 for copyright infringement for pirating DVDs. He earned a five-year prison sentence and another three years of probation following his release. Lusardi also had to pay restitution of over $1.1 million.

In February 2014, a class-action lawsuitspearheaded by Jacob Musterel was filed against Borgata. Two months later, almost $20,000 was paid out to each remaining playerfrom the prize pool, about what 10th place would have made had the tournament played out normally. Over 2,100 other players received their $560 buy-in back. Shortly thereafter, members of the final 27 sued.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest.

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