Art Dealer from New York, Helly Nahmad, Receives Sentence for Involvement in Gambling Enterprise
In a past story, New York City well-known art dealer Hillel "Helly" Nahmad offered illegal gambling services to stars and extremely wealthy clients worldwide. Today, he will serve more than a year in prison for being the head of a massive worldwide illegal gambling ring.
Last week, Nahmad received a sentence of one year and a day in federal prison for managing an unlawful gambling business linked to athletes, Wall Street executives, and Hollywood celebrities. Nahmad admitted as part of a deal to the charges, including his role in controlling and financing the operation and receiving a large amount of the ring's profits.
Surprisingly, Nahmad offered to pay $100,000 per year towards an art program for underprivileged kids to avoid jail time. Unfortunately for him, this offer was denied by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman.
"There is only one way for Mr. Nahmad to understand his actions have consequences," Furman said, "and that is to send him to prison."
Furman Questions Nahmad's Reform
Judge Furman mentioned that if Nahmad showed a genuine desire to reform himself, his proposal might have been given more consideration.
"Doing good works before sentencing is as low-hanging fruit as it gets, and he didn't pick it," Furman stated. "It baffles me, honestly."
Aside from prison time, Nahmad must pay a $30,000 fine, complete 300 hours of community service, and live under supervised release for three years. Additionally, Nahmad must forfeit $6.4 million he had previously agreed to under his plea deal. This plea deal also obligated him to give up all right to the "Carnaval a Nice, 1937" Raoul Dufy painting, worth much money.
Nahmad's legal team argued he was brought up in a culture where gambling was legal, and high stakes gambling was actually ordinary. They even shared that Nahmad had been gambling since a young age, betting on Knicks games as a 14-year-old and being expelled from a Monaco casino when he was 15.
Nahmad, now 35 years old, is the son of billionaire art dealer David Nahmad. The Nahmad family is estimated to have a $3 billion fortune.
"My family is a private family and I disgraced it," Nahmad shared with Judge Furman. "I will never forgive myself for what I've done."
Ties to Russian Crime Syndicates
Nahmad was one of 34 people arrested in April when law enforcement shut down the ring. Other indicted people reportedly had ties to Russian organized crime, like Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who was said to direct the entire operation from overseas. Tokhtakhounov is also accused of attempting to fix figure skating events during the 2002 Olympics.
So far, 28 members of the ring have pleaded guilty. This group includes Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher, who both got five-year prison sentences this week.
News sources state the gambling ring hosted illegal poker games that attracted names like Leonardo DiCaprio and Alex Rodriguez.
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