John Campos Sentenced to 90 Day Jail

Thursday June 28,2012 : CAMPOS GETS THREE MONTHS JAIL (Update)
 
Judge emphasises that he was "extremely lenient" in sentence on Black Friday indictee
 
John Campos, the former Utah banker named in the Black Friday indictments against US online poker siteswww.lifegambling.com, should count himself fortunate to have been punished by only a three month jail sentence, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Wednesday, characterising the sentence he handed down as "extremely lenient".
 
Judge Kaplan told Campos that he might not have made much money personally by letting his St. George, Utah, bank process gambling proceeds but it was a “greed-driven crime” nonetheless, the Associated Press news agency reports. He opined that in financial crimes it was important to set examples for others, especially following the global financial crisis.
 
The judge noted that Campos had stood to benefit financially if the revenue helped steady the finances of SunFirst Bank, where he was the vice chairman and a director when he agreed to process $200 million in gambling payments.
 
The former banker entered a guilty plea on a misdemeanour charge in March this year

“There’s just no doubt at all that you engaged in criminal behavior,” Kaplan said. “That is not a laughing matter, even if it was a small bank in St. George, Utah.”
 
Campos was possibly relieved to have the matter decided; when he appeared earlier this year Judge Kaplan declined to immediately accept the plea, requiring prosecutors to justify agreeing to the misdemeanour level. However, he eventually ruled that the government had “a reasonable basis” to let Campos plead guilty to a reduced charge.
 
Campos must report for his imprisonment by September 18.