Dan Bilzerian to make PSA for BLM as part of plea deal
Instagram-famous actor and poker player Dan Bilzerian cut a deal with prosecutors Friday on an explosives charge and is expected to make a public service announcement video for the Bureau of Land Management.
Bilzerian, who did not appear in court, pleaded no contest through his attorney, David Chesnoff, to a misdemeanor charge of negligently failing to extinguish a fire in the open. Bilzerian also paid a clean-up cost of $17,231.50, Chesnoff said.
A criminal complaint against Bilzerian, known as the “King of Instagram” with 6.4 million followers on the photo-sharing application, and Jeremy Guymon, stated that the two possessed ammonium nitrate mix, a chemical compound used with TNT.
Guymon also pleaded no contest to the same misdemeanor charge, and agreed to pay $2,768.50, according to his attorney Richard Schonfeld.
Neither Bilzerian nor Guymon would have to serve jail time, additional fines or face provisions of staying out of trouble.
“Both parties are stipulating that this is not a crime of moral turpitude,” Chesnoff said.
Bilzerian was arrested in December at Los Angeles International Airport on a warrant out of Clark County for possessing bomb-making materials.
While the incident occurred on BLM land, Chesnoff and Schonfeld said federal authorities have agreed not to pursue charges.
Chesnoff said the Bureau of Land Management video would be recorded within the next few weeks.
On Friday, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Sciscento found Bilzerian and Guymon guilty of the misdemeanors. Prosecutor David Stanton said felony charges of possessing component of explosive or incendiary device with intent to manufacture explosive or incendiary device and possession of explosive incendiary device would be dismissed.
“It is largely unnecessary to go further based on the conditions of the plea and the facts of this case,” Stanton said.
Bilzerian often posts images with high-powered weapons to his social media account. He is the son of Paul Bilzerian, a corporate takeover specialist convicted in the 1980s of violating securities and tax laws.
Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker
