Poker Player Convicted for $1.2 Bln U.K. Property Fraud

Greek businessman Achilleas Kallakis, known as “The Don” on the international poker circuit, was convicted of defrauding lenders and using the proceeds to pay for trophy property, private planes, a yacht in Monaco, luxury cars, helicopters and artwork, prosecutors said.

Kallakis, 44, and co-conspirator Alexander M. Williams, also 44, defrauded banks to borrow 740 million pounds ($1.18 billion) and acquire 16 properties, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office said today in a statement. The purchases included an office building on London’s St. James’s Square that Kallakis planned to convert into a home until permission was denied by the local council.