Absolute Poker Co-Founder Has Sentencing Delayed

The Co-Founder of Absolute Poker has had his sentencing for his part in the company's illegal gambling actions delayed, as the judge in the case moved the sentencing from May 21st to June 28th.

Looking for a reason as to why the judge delayed the sentencing of Brent Buckley, media reporters found the judge's report to state that an "upward departure" may be necessary in the case because there is: "....an aggravating circumstance in this case of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines."

Judge Kaplan's order cites the guideline in USSG § 2B1.1, which "...depends heavily on the loss amount, which is defined in terms of ‘the reasonably foreseeable pecuniary harm,’ and notes that the government acknowledges that it is not in a position to establish pecuniary harm in view of the nature of the offenses of conviction.”

The order then states that defendant Buckley "....deliberately and unlawfully conspired to circumvent, and circumvented, governing laws of the United States in order to conduct or facilitate an unlawful business or businesses involving billions of dollars from which those businesses gained many millions of dollars. The failure of the guideline so heavily dependent on loss amount to fix an appropriate sentencing range in a case like this may warrant an upward departure."