The trial of Dennis Blieden, a former vice president of finance for a digital marketing agency, has started. Blieden has allegedly embezzled $22 million worth of company funds.
Dennis Blieden Faces Prosecution over $22m
This is the story of Dennis Blieden, a one-time poker wonder who landed $1 million from his first serious live entry at the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic where he paid a $10,000 buy-in. Blieden, as it turns out, has scored other big wins in his personal life, but not necessarily legal ones.
On Thursday, July 11, afederal grand jury indicted Blieden on embezzling charges to the tuneof $22 million. He stole the money from StyleHaul,a former employer during his stint as VP of Accounting and Finance.
Accordingto the prosecutors and the cited evidence, Blieden had spent fouryears siphoning off funds from his company into personal accounts andused the proceedings to gamble. The fraud took place between October2015 and March 2019.
Asa result, Blieden is facing a slew of charges, including 11 counts ofwire fraud as well as identity theft, forfeiture counts, and more.Blieden was present in court on Thursday with the FBI looking intoBlieden and working with Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie L.Makarewicz.
The CaseAgainst Blieden Unfolds
Blieden’sgambling has taken significant dimensions. According to theDepartment of Justice (DOJ),Blieden engaged in various gambling activities, includingcrypto-currency gaming, which was fueled with his embezzled money.
Hehad estimated $8,473,734 in crypto currency, which he hoped atthe time would not be identified by the authorities. Over $1 millionhas been given out in checks to pocker players and another $1 millionwent to pay credit cards.
Dennis Blieden (@D_Bloc) wins WPT @LAPC Championship and $1 million from @CommerceCasino! pic.twitter.com/xz8Loe5cZg
— World Poker T mnl168 our (@WPT) March 2, 2018
Bliedenforged signatures to rent a condominium in Rosarito Beach, Mexico forwhat appeared to be company clients and executives, but turned out tobe his own personal needs – which served as the basis as his identitytheft charge. The rental cost the company $230,000. This isjust the beginning for him.
Placed in custody, Blieden may face up to 200 year if he is found guilty on all charges.
A CareerThat Never Was
Blieden had his moments when he won in the WPT Champions Cup back in 2018. The little-known Blieden went up head-to-head against Toby Lewis, a talented player with over $6.4 million in live earnings.
Healso qualified for the $300,000 Aria Super High Roller Bowlbut didn’t win anything out of the event. He also attended two USPoker Open events when he wasfired from his VP position at StyleHaul in February.
Throughouthis short career, Blieden has been playing aggressively, which couldbe a reflection of his character. He hasn’t won much apart from his$1 million from the L. A. Event, which goes to show that hisaggressiveness was more of a fluke, and while he made headlines as araising talent, his overconfidence hasn’t got him much farther.
A newhand has been dealt, though, and he will want to do his best to winthis one – or he would end up in jail for the next 200 years.