Las Vegas Gambler Billy Walters Ordered to Prison Next Month
Las Vegas Gambler Billy Walters Ordered to Prison Next Month
(Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters will have to sit in prison while a federal appeals court considers whether to overturn his conviction for insider trading.
Walters had asked the federal appeals court in New York to let him remain free on bail while he challenges his conviction and five-year prison sentence for making at least $43 million on illicit tips he got from his golf buddy, former Dean Foods Co. Chairman Tom Davis. The court denied the request in a one-page order Tuesday, meaning the 71-year-old will have to report to prison Oct. 10.
A Manhattan jury in April found Walters guilty of 10 counts of fraud and conspiracy. His lawyer, Barry Berke, didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
Walters claims the prosecution was fatally tainted by the lead investigator in the case, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who leaked secret grand jury information to the press. He also said the government presented phony testimony from Davis about a "burner" cell phone he claimed he used to communicate with Walters.
The case entangled pro golfer Phil Mickelson, who wasn’t accused of wrongdoing but agreed to pay back almost $1 million he earned trading on information he got from Walters.
In addition to denying Walters’ bail request, the court ordered that the appeal process be expedited.
The case is U.S. v. Walters, 17-cr-2373, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Paul Cox