When he was a securities broker, Samuel McMaster Jr. defrauded a lot of innocent people out of their money. He was tried and convicted of 26 counts of securities fraud and has been forced to repay over $444,000 worth of money he stole from his customers. Unfortunately, since he was stripped of his broker’s license, he’s only got one way to pay back his debt to society. It turns out the fraudulent broker is also a poker pro, and he must keep winning to stay out of jail.
Under the terms of his plea bargain with prosecutor Phyllis Bowman and Judge Ross Sanchez, McMaster must pay back $7500 per month. He’s got six months to prove he can make enough scratch to carry out his parole: if he misses two payments in six months, then he goes to jail for up to 12 years. That means he’s got to win and keep winning (or get a lot of loans from friends). That’s going to mean a lot of trips up to Las Vegas.
Tags: Samuel McMaster Jr., man plays poker to avoid jail, professional poker player must win or go to jail, New Mexico, man to repay stolen money via poker winnings, securities fraud, man must win at poker to avoid jail, Ross Sanchez, Phyllis Bowman