An individual believed to be an Israeli mobster stands accused of enforcing the rules for a network of exclusive poker games in California. These games, featuring a hefty $20,000 buy-in, offered the chance to mingle with celebrities and athletes in luxurious homes across the Los Angeles area.

However, participation in these games came with significant risks. Authorities report that one man connected to these events was murdered, and others suffered severe repercussions, including having their Bentley and residence set ablaze.

Debtors allegedly faced intimidation from Assaf “Ace” Waknine, an Israeli national with a lengthy criminal record. Recently, Waknine was charged in federal court for making threatening communications across state and international lines. Deported from the U.S. in 2011, Waknine is suspected to have been in Mexico while issuing these threats.

The Department of Homeland Security has released a 35-page criminal complaint that details these elite poker gatherings, which became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. The affidavit describes these events as lavish, often hosted in grand mansions with DJs, gourmet chefs, and waitstaff who were either models or social media influencers.

The complaint reveals that the victim organized several of these poker nights and was liable for some of the players’ debts. Two violent incidents are noted at the games he hosted. In May 2023, two individuals reportedly set fire to a Bentley SUV and then unleashed gunfire into a home, barely missing its occupants. The same perpetrators allegedly used a Molotov cocktail to attack another residence where a game took place.

The games came to light after the June 2023 murder of a man named Emile Lahaziel, who attended one of these games at a home in Hollywood Hills. Although Waknine is not charged in connection with the murder, he is accused of threatening the host of a connected poker game with meeting a demise like Lahaziel, the feds say. Lahaziel had previously played at some of the games the victim hosted.

Two people have been charged with murder in Lahaziel’s death and are awaiting trial.

Several months after the murder, in January 2024, Waknine allegedly sent the victim a series of text messages. The victim ignored the messages and calls, saying he didn’t know Waknine and was in a meeting, the complaint said.

“F— your meeting,” Waknine allegedly said to the man identified in court documents as Victim-1.

One minute later, the complaint alleges Waknine sent the following message: “Ok [Victim-1] I guess you really Want to end up like your other b— a— poker budd.”

Waknine was additionally accused of threatening others associated with the games.

“Listen good motherf—er,” he allegedly wrote. “We explained to you in a very direct manner don’t f— us.”

The complaint said Waknine and his brother would hire Southern California gang members to “serve as their enforcers and extortionate debt collectors.” The complaint does not accuse Waknine of ordering a hit on Lahaziel, but believes he was “at minimum” aware of the murder.

Waknine’s lawyer, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, denied the allegations.