WPT Champ Dennis Blieden Charged in $22million Embezzlement Case

Dennis Blieden, the player who came from nowhere to lift last year’s WPT LAPC for $1million, has been charged with embezzling $22million from his former employees, according to a federal indictment unsealed this week…

Blieden was arrested in Las Vegas and faces 14 charges - 11 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two forfeiture counts – for allegedly defrauding StyleHaul Inc while working as their ‘controller and vice president of accounting and finance’.

It is claimed that he used the money for a variety of personal reasons, including funding poker buy-ins and online gambling, US Poker Open entry fees of $52,000 and $103,000 listed on the indictment.

The court records also list $1,204,000 of personal checks paid to poker players, $1,134,956 for paying off credit cards, and $8,473,734 transferred from StyleHaul’s account to Blieden’s crypto-currency accounts.

Blieden won the WPT LA Poker Classic in February of last year, defeating Toby Lewis heads-up for the $1million win. Last month he cashed in the WSOP and the partypoker Vegas MILLIONS.

If convicted of all charges, Blieden could face 200 years imprisonment – his poker career and much else besides clearly over in such a case.