Texas High-Stakes Poker Player Guilty of Defrauding School District Seeks New Trial
Anthony Hutchison, a high-stakes poker player in Texas who was found guilty of defrauding a Houston school district through bribery, wants a new trial.
The former athlete who had a brief cup of coffee in the NFL in the 1980s and his co-defendant, Brian Busby, were convicted last month on a combined 33 criminal counts. Both face decades in federal prison and are scheduled to be sentenced this summer. But attorneys for the poker player are looking to have, at the very least, acquittal on "certain counts."
Hutchison, with the assistance of Houston Independent School District's (HISD) former chief operating officer (COO), Busby, bribed district employees to favor Hutchison's businesses and overbilled the district for landscaping services, which caused "millions of dollars in loss" to the school system, the 12-person jury determined.
Can Poker Player Get a New Trial?
Rusty Hardin, Hutchison's attorney, asked the court, and was granted, an extension to file post-trial motions of acquittal and motions for a new trial. The prosecution, judge, and co-defendant approved the extension until August 4, 2025.
"Anthony Hutchison intends to file post-trial motions, including motions for new trial and motions for judgment of acquittal related to certain counts. To do so, Mr. Hutchison requires additional time to review and summarize the voluminous trial transcripts and records and to perform additional investigation of issues supporting motions for new trial and judgment of acquittal," Hardin wrote.
Hutchison was convicted on all 21 counts he faced, including conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud. According to U.S. federal law Rule 33, "upon the defendant's motion, the court may vacate any judgment and grant a new trial if the interest of justice so requires."
Hutchison frequented high-stakes private games in Houston, but he was apparently a massive losing player. He lost up to $300,000 in a session and would often chase his losses, according to testimony from Ayaz Mahmood, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner who competed in the games.
The former NFL athlete did, however, always pay off his poker debts, Mahmood told the court. But the jury found that the evidence, which included numerous receipts, indicated Hutchison and Busby overbilled HISD by more than $800,000 each year between 2013 and 2020.
The government showed evidence proving that when Hutchison had to pay off his poker losses, he'd write checks to Bulldog Timber, a company that acts as a middleman to loggers and sawmills. The business also cashes checks on the side, charging a three-percent fee.
Mahmood testified that he or one of his couriers would deliver the checks to Bulldog Timber, and then the cash would be distributed to the players from the private games to cover Hutchison's losses. Prosecutors presented to the court some of those checks, which list HISD projects in the memo line.
But Bulldog Timber's owner, Theodore Theilen, testified that he doesn't recall ever having performed any services for the school district. Prosecutors said Hutchison intentionally misclassified checks to Bulldog Timber as business expenses as a way of reducing his taxable income.
Defense attorneys can now review transcripts from the lengthy trial to determine if there are any grounds for Hutchison and Busby receiving a new trial. They have until Aug. 4 to explain to the court why all or some counts should be vacated. Newly discovered evidence, jury misconduct, and irregularity in court proceeding are common arguments made for a new trial. It's unclear if the defense team has obtained any new evidence that could help Busby and Hutchison land a new trial.
Hutchison is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28.
