World champion boxer Antonio Tarver arrested on Las Vegas warrant in Florida. Tarver had a professional boxing record of 30-6, and won the bronze medal as a light heavyweight at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. He is currently being held on $215,425 bail, following his arrest, stemming from a warrant that was issued last June in Las Vegas. The criminal complaint charges him with felony theft and felony bad check. He is alleged, to have failed to pay three casino loans, known as “casino markers” totaling $200,000, which were taken from The Wynn Las Vegas Resort, in July of 2012.
Generally, when a casino marker is owed, the casino will attempt to collect payment directly from the debtor. But when those attempts fail, which is the allegation against Antonio Tarver, the casino will refer the case to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office “Bad Check Unit”, which is responsible for prosecuting these unpaid debts.
Some legal experts have argued that a failure to pay a debt should be a civil matter, handled exclusively between the two parties of the loan. But Nevada law specifically proscribes for criminal charges in these matters, and treats them as if the debtor wrote a fraudulent bad check. It is important to note, that the District Attorney’s Office collects a 10 percent processing and prosecution fee, from the defendant, in any instance where the case is settled.
-Michael A. Troiano, Esq.
sources: http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/10544071/antonio-tarver-arrested-fugitive-warrant-florida
http://www.tmz.com/2014/03/03/antonio-tarver-gambling-debt-wynn-las-vegas-lawsuit/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Tarver
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/mar/03/former-boxing-champ-arrested-warrant-out-clark-cou/
