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A criminal complaint has been filed against an Israeli mobster with an extensive rap sheet for allegedly sending text messages containing violent threats to a Los Angeles high-stakes poker game host.
Assaf Waknine, 52, also known as "Assaf Oiknine" and "Ace," was deported from the U.S. to Israel in 2011 following a decades-long crime spree that included numerous felony convictions for charges ranging from assault with a deadly weapon to forgery. Federal investigators believe he now resides in Mexico, where he has communicated with Mexican Mafia and Crips gang members to serve as initimidation so he could extort money from the host of a poker game in Beverly Hills, court documents obtained by PokerNews show.
Dangers of Private Poker Games in Los Angeles
The affidavit, filed Oct. 31 by Special Agent Matthew Hernandez in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, lays out reasons for probable cause as to why Waknine is being charged with transmitting threatening communications in interstate and foreign commerce. The accused criminal is not in custody and his precise whereabouts are unknown.Waknine is the latest to face federal charges related to high-stakes private poker games, joining NBA stars Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups, and members of Israeli and Italian crime syndicates.
The newest criminal complaint accuses Waknine of sending threatening WhatsApp messages to the game host referred to as Victim-1 if he "refuses to pay Waknine to provide protection for Victim-1’s high-stakes private poker games."
Hernandez stated that the threats occurred in January 2024, seven months after the highly publicized murder of 39-year-old Israeli citizen Emil Lahaziel outside a Los Angeles-area poker game hosted by Victim-1 that directly led federal authorities to alleged illegal poker games run by Israeli mobsters at the home of Arenas.
Waknine is alleged to have attempted to use threatening methods to take a cut of the six-figure weekly profits from a high-stakes private game. Victim-1 refused to pay, causing Waknine to reference the Lahaziel murder, text messages indicate.
"You hang up me one more time and than your will f*****g understand," a WhatsApp message to Victim-1 from a number Hernandez believes to be Waknine's.
Waknine allegedly continued to message the victim, before Victim-1 responded: "I Don’t Know who you are and I’m in a meeting."
"F**k your meeting," Waknine wrote.
"Ok [Victim-1] I guess you really Want to end up like your other b***h a** poker buddy."
"Listen mother f****r," Waknine said in one final message.
Lahaziel and Victim-1 were friends, and according to the criminal complaint, Waknine was aware of the murder.
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Partnering with Gangbangers
Waknine and his multiple-times convicted felon brother, Hai Waknine, "developed connections with individuals affiliated with the Mexican Mafia in Southern California, as well as connections with historically Black gangs including the Crips, whom they use as enforcers and collectors for their extortion schemes," Hernandez wrote.The gang members allegedly served as Waknine's muscle, making violent physical threats with the intent for the victim to pay money that isn't owed. Victim-1 operated a poker game with buy-ins ranging from $20,000 to millions of dollars.
"A player could win or lose well over a million dollars in one night alone," the affidavit reads.
Victim-1 hired a full staff to create a "party-like atmosphere" for the poker events, including cocktail waitresses, valet, chefs, bartenders, and poker dealers. The game attracted celebrities, poker pros and recreational players, and wealthy businesspeople, and was well-known within the Los Angeles high-stakes poker community.
Victim-1, the affidavid reads, hired private security guards "to provide security services for the poker events." The purpose was to provide the "elite clientele" safety and "peace of mind" when playing in high-stakes poker games at a residence. Waknine is alleged to have used his violent reputation as a tool to extort money out of these games.
Waknine, per Hernandez, sought $5,000 per game for "protection" fees, an offer Victim-1 refused. Victim-1 never paid the felon a dime.
*Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Source: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/11/mobster-arrested-for-illegal-poker-games-49999.htm
