Phil Mickelson identified as source of laundered money in gambling case

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Phil Mickelson transferred about $2.75 million to former sports betting tout Gregory Silveira, who was acting as an intermediary for an offshore gambling operation and pleaded guilty last week to laundering the money, according to an ESPN report.

Silveira pleaded guilty to three counts of laundering funds from an unnamed "gambling client" between February 2010 and 2013.  The client was referred to as "P.M." in the initial plea agreement, and according to two sources, those initials refer to Phil Mickelson.  The initials were removed from an amended version of the plea deal at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office after inquiries from ESPN about Mickelson's potential involvement in the case.

Mickelson is not facing any charges and is not under federal investigation for the matter, the ESPN report notes. 

Silveira is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 5 and faces a maximum of 60 years in prison, although it's unlikely he'll do anywhere near that much time.

While court documents vaguely refer to the $2.75 million as "proceeds" and state the money was part of an "illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events," it is not known what it was actually for.  Whether it was Mickelson's winnings or losings, funds to be placed into an offshore account, or something else entirely is unclear.

Mickelson is known to have made a wager or two on the golf course, and sources in Las Vegas confirmed to ESPN that he still bets on sports around town.

Mickelson was also reportedly being investigated last year by the FBI and SEC for an alleged insider trading scheme that also included notorious pro sports bettor Billy Walters and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.  Mickelson has been cleared of one instance of alleged insider trading, and it's not clear whether the feds are still investigating the other, ESPN reports.
 

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