A man with alleged ties to Israeli organized crime helped run high-stakes illegal poker games at a luxury Encino mansion owned by former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, according to authorities and court documents.<\/p>\n
Yevgeni Gershman, 50, of Woodland Hills, has agreed to plead guilty to four federal counts including conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, immigration fraud, money laundering and being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Under a plea agreement, Gershman faces a sentence of 24 months in federal prison, along with three years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine.<\/p>\n
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 6, according to Ciaran McEvoy, a public information officer for the U.S. attorney\u2019s office in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Gershman also has criminal convictions in Israel<\/a>, including conspiracy to commit murder and narcotics trafficking, L.A. federal prosecutors said in court filings.<\/p>\n According to prosecutors, Gershman was a central figure in a gambling operation that ran out of a mansion on Gable Drive in Encino, where organizers hosted high-stakes poker games and took a percentage of each pot, known as a \u201crake.\u201d<\/p>\n The alleged illegal gambling took place between September 2021 and July 2022, when the Encino mansion was rented out on a regular basis to host the poker games, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n Authorities alleged Arenas, 44, rented out the home while Gershman and alleged co-conspirators Evgeni Tourevski, Allan Austria and Yarin Cohen managed operations, recruited players and staffed the events with dealers, chefs, valets and armed security, according to court documents.<\/p>\n Arenas and the other co-defendants have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial on May 5, McEvoy said.<\/p>\n According to court documents, Gershman allegedly hired young women to serve drinks, provide massages and offer \u201ccompanionship\u201d to players, and charged them a percentage of their earnings.<\/p>\n