Sexual Battery Charges May Send Poker Pro Shawn Sheikhan Packing Back to Iran
September 20, 2007
The Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting that professional poker player Shahram “Shawn” Sheikhan is facing possible deportation over a 1995 conviction on charges of “sexual battery” and “annoyance or molestation of a child”. He served nine months in prison and five years of probation for the crimes.
Sheikhan is an Iranian citizen who is currently living in Las Vegas. According to court documents, he was arrested by federal authorities in his home last week.
“This individual was targeted for ICE arrest because of his criminal history,” Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in an e-mail message to LVRJ Wednesday. “ICE has an ongoing initiative called Operation Predator targeting individuals, including foreign nationals, who prey upon and sexually exploit children.”
According to the article, Kice said on Wednesday, “we want to see him removed from the United States.”
Court docs state that Homeland Security is all about kicking his ass out of the country because of “two crimes involving moral turpitude not arising out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct.”
Sheikhan is a legal perminant resident who is married to a U.S. citizen and has a 9 year old daughter. He is the owner of a retail chain of tobacco and tattoo stores. As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,200,000.
Comments
Got something to say?