Jean Pavili, director of Everleaf Gaming, was held by the police. He became the second executive of the Maltese company, which is not currently operating, to be taken into custody after Michael Zwi Oros’ arrest in September. Pavili was accused of embezzling the impressive sum of almost $1 million from customers of the online poker platform. It also appears that he failed to pay taxes and license fees amounting to $124,727.
Pavili paid a total of $25,000 for deposit and personal guarantee, so as to be released on bail. What is more, $1.12 million of his personal assets in his home country as well as in other locations were frozen, to be prevented from being dissipated by their owner.
The Everleaf CEO was allowed bail by Dr. Saviour Demicoli, the Maltese magistrate shouldered with this case, on account of the afore-mentioned assets being enough to cover any detrimental effects that might be caused due to the company’s refusal or inability to pay for taxes and license fees, to inform the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority of any potential relocation, to pay its players what they have won, to announce the names of its beneficiaries, or to guarantee their reliability.
The Maltese company kept on illegally offering its services to customers within the territory of the United States even after PokerStars, Full Tilt, and some of their associates were accused of violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and their websites were taken down. The day of their indictment became known as the Black Friday of poker community.
But this was not the only offence that Everleaf committed. In fact, the company had problems long before the above-mentioned event.
Everleaf Gaming Network was established in 2004, providing its players with a multi-lingual online platform with independent card rooms. It offered a special program to its loyal customers as well as a rakeback program. But the fact that, initially, the company did not establish a firm rakeback cap caused certain serious problems. What is more, although the company accepted players from the United States, they were not able to cash out without having to travel outside the country for the purpose. That is, Everleaf offered only three ways for converting winnings into actual money – through a non-U.S. Neteller, Moneybookers, or bank accounts.
The Lotteries and Gaming Authority in Malta prohibited the company from providing its services in July 2013. Everleaf was asked to prevent the registration of new customers, to stop accepting new payments, and to abstain from promoting new gaming projects.
The LGA’s approach to the Everleaf problem was highly disapproved of. Joseph Cuschieri, manager of the Maltese regulatory body, promised that he will make sure that all players will be returned their money. What is more, he had previously stated that gamblers’ trust is extremely important to LGA.
