Poker Player Charged with 21 Counts: High-Stakes Gambler Accused of Cheating Texas School District Out of Funds
Sketchy School Schemes: How Two Men Landed in Deep Trouble
Meet Anthony Hutchison, a less-than-stellar poker player with a penchant for high-stakes games and one Brian Busby, a former Chief Operating Officer at the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Steeped in controversy, these two gentlemen have found themselves in hot water, accused of bribing staffers at HISD to secure their company's services.
The duo was hit with an astonishing 33 counts, including conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud. After a lengthy trial, the verdict from the jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, saw both men found guilty on all counts. Courthouse documents confirm this outcome, being disseminated by PokerNews.
From Poker toPrison
With a brief stint in the NFL in the 1980s, Hutchison was a frequent face in exclusive Houston poker circles. His poker skills, according to Ayaz Mahmood, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, left much to be desired. Mahmood went as far as to call Hutchison's poker game "not too good."
Mahmood's testimony held significant weight in the trial, particularly in demonstrating Hutchison's penchant for chasing his losses. Reports suggest that Hutchison could lose up to $300,000 in a single poker session, his desperation earning the nickname "poker tilt."
Aside from misusing his poker earnings, Hutchison was also found guilty of falsifying tax returns and using his businesses to fund his card game habits. Court documents indicate that his businesses overcharged clients, resulting in "millions of dollars in loss" for a school district that was left footing the bill.
Hutchison and his cronies aren't shy about bribing district employees to favor their businesses. Key witnesses came forward, detailing the kickbacks Hutchison offered in exchange for awarding contracts to his companies.
Court records present a mountain of evidence, including five-figure payments made from Hutchison to HISD employees and checks written to Bulldog Timber, a company serving as a middleman in the logging and sawmill industry. Bulldog Timber also handled cash transactions on the side, charging a three-percent fee, with some of these funds reportedly going to cover Hutchison's poker losses.
Mahmood testified that he or one of his associates would pass the payments to Bulldog Timber, and the cash would then be distributed to the poker players to recoup Hutchison's gambling debts. The court was presented with some of these checks, many of which displayed HISD projects in the memo line.
However, Theodore Theilen, owner of Bulldog Timber, claimed he couldn't recall ever performing any work for the school district. Prosecutors claimed Hutchison intentionally misclassified these checks as business expenses to lessen his taxable income, a claim that didn't fly with the jury.
Hutchison's lawyers argued that Hutchison's tax preparers were responsible for the error, a point the jury didn't appear to buy.
Rusty Hardin, Hutchison's well-known attorney, asserted that his client suffers from a severe gambling addiction; Mahmood agreed. However, Mahmood did mention that Hutchison always paid off his debts.
Hutchison, now 64, is slated to be sentenced on July 28, 2025. With over 20 years in prison on the line for 11 counts of wire fraud, six counts of bribery, two counts of willfully filing false tax returns, one count of witness tampering, and one count of conspiracy, Hutchison and Busby will remain out on bond as they await sentencing.
[1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/houston-contractor-and-his-associate-admit-bribing-officials-husd-and-therschools-to[2] https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/houston/article/HISD-contractor-anthony-hutchison-found-guilty-on-16767875.php[3] https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/29/anthony-hutchison-bribery-conviction-brian-busby-hisd/[4] https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/04/29/expert-finds-ties-between-bulldog-timber-anthony-hutchisons-company/[5] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/houston-former-contractor-convicted-bribing-education-officials-literally-millions-school-n1262449
- The news of Anthony Hutchison's guilt in a vast bribery scheme, involving him and Brian Busby, has been confirmed by the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Ayaz Mahmood, who testified that Hutchison's poker game was "not too good."
- The court proceedings revealed that Hutchison's penchant for high-stakes casino games extended beyond poker, resulting in a false tax declaration and the utilization of his businesses to fund his gambling habit.
- The trial shed light on Hutchison's tendency to chase his losses, with reports suggesting he could lose up to $300,000 in a single poker session, a situation that earned him the nickname "poker tilt."
- In addition to misusing his poker earnings, Hutchison was found guilty of offering kickbacks to district employees to favor his businesses, a practice that falls under the umbrella of casino-and-gambling-related crime-and-justice issues.
- Key witnesses testified to five-figure payments made from Hutchison to HISD employees and checks written to casino-games-related company Bulldog Timber, which handled cash transactions on the side, charging a three-percent fee, with some of these funds reportedly used to cover Hutchison's poker losses.
- The court documents presented a mountain of evidence against Hutchison, including checks displaying HISD projects in the memo line, which were falsely classified as business expenses to make them taxable.
