A programmer indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland in 2011 for his involvement with BetEdhas pleaded guilty to one criminal charge in order to stay out of prison.

David Parchomchuk agreed to a deal with prosecutors last week in which he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to conduct an illegal gambling business. For his plea, Parchomchuk received two years’ probation.

Parchomchuk was swept up in the Blue Monday indictmentsof May 2011 in which ten online gaming domains were seized, including BetEd.com, DoylesRoom.com, and TruePoker.com. In addition to the count to which he pleaded guilty, he was originally charged with money laundering.

Parchomchuk was reported to have been the owner and founder of ThrillX Systems, doing business as BetEd.com, but in June, he professed his innocence, claiming he only “provided technical consulting services to this company, as I’ve done for numerous other clients in my career.”

He added, “I had no reason to believe that I would be indicted for providing technical services to this company. As a husband and father, I would not have jeopardized my livelihood or the security of my family.”

At the time, Parchomchuk’s representatives told eGaming Review, “His name is not, and has never been, on any company share certificates, registry, domain, or anything else related to betED, ThrillX, OneUpNetworks, or any other associated companies.”

The government was able to build a case against ThrillX, Parchomchuk, co-defendant Darren Wright, K23 Group Financial Services, and Ann Marie Puig by having Homeland Security Investigations set up a fake payment processing company.

Using the company, called Linwood Payment Solutions, HSI went about an undercover operation in which it offered its services to BetEd and K23. From February 2010 to January 2011, Linwood processed over $2.5 million in wire transfers to Panamanian bank accounts for BetEd. Between February 2011 and April 2011, Linwood processed $91,000 in payments for K23, with the money going to Malta and Portugal.

When Parchomchuk claimed innocence last year, his counsel, Jeff Ifrah, said, “By indicting a software programmer, Maryland has expanded the definition of who is in the business of gambling. Traditionally, only operators, processors, and their owner/directors have been included in this definition.”

Ifrah has also been involved in the Black Friday cases in which 11 people involved with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were indicted, serving as counsel for Full Tilt founder Ray Bitar (pictured).

In a statement, Ifrah said that Parchomchuk takes responsibility for his role as a programmer in an illegal gambling operation. “While the indictment of a software professional is an unprecedented step by the DOJ,” said Ifrah, “we are nonetheless happy to see this case come to a final resolution. It was apparent to both the prosecution and the judge that my client played a relatively minor role in the organization and had absolutely no financial or executive control, which is reflected in this sentence.”

Parchomchuk also made a statement, expressing his sympathy for the customers of the gambling sites who had their funds seized and have yet to get them back: “I would like to thank all those who provided support during this extremely difficult process. And for the thousands of customers and other employees affected by the closure of the site, I hope that restitution will be made for the balances that remain unpaid. I’ve provided any and all information I have in regards to the location of missing funds to the DOJ and hope that information is used for the benefit of those affected.”