Overview

• The six defendants, including Arenas, are scheduled for initial appearances and arraignments this afternoon before a federal magistrate in Los Angeles.
• Arenas is charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating the illegal gambling business and making false statements to federal investigators, each count carrying up to five years in prison.
• From September 2021 through July 2022, the group staged Pot Limit Omaha and other games at the Encino mansion, collecting a rake from each pot and staffing events with servers, chefs and armed security.
• Yevgeni Gershman and Valentina Cojocari face additional counts of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud and making false statements on immigration documents related to a sham marriage.
• The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ Northridge office, the LAPD’s Transnational Organized Crime Section and IRS Criminal Investigation, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuting the case.