Washington State poker players who have attempted to withdraw funds from their online poker accounts following the State Supreme Court’s upholding of a statewide online poker ban may be in for an unpleasant surprise. According to a report by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, federal prosecutors are looking to seize $553,000 from a payment processing company in Canada that they claim has been used to facilitate payments to online poker players in the state.

Prosecutors have claimed that the company, known as Secure Money, Inc., has sent payments to online poker players in Washington. Online gambling is prohibited by state law in Washington.

As part of the case, an undercover agent was allowed to gamble at UltimateBet.com. When he attempted to cash out winnings from his account, Secure Money, Inc. was the company that ultimately sent him the check, which was labeled as a “payroll” payment. According to prosecutors, “processing checks that represent the funds derived from online gambling” would be a violation of federal money laundering laws.

Bank records found by investigators have shown over 5,500 checks having been issued from the company between June 2009 and January 2010, with a total value of about $2.7 million. Each of these checks included a memo line of “payroll.”

While federal prosecutors filed civil charges against Secure Money, Inc. in October, no criminal charges have yet been made. Secure Money has also done business out of Las Vegas and Tampa, Florida, and holds at least six bank accounts, the balances of which prosecutors have moved to have forfeited to the government.

The seizure of these funds is just the latest blow to online poker players living in Washington. In September, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the state law making playing online poker a Class C felony was not unconstitutional, thereby upholding the 2006 Internet gambling ban. The decision led PokerStars to suspend its operations in the state, as the world’s largest online poker site no longer allows Washington residents to play in real money games.

It is unclear at this time when – or if – Washington-based online poker players can expect to successfully withdraw winnings from their accounts.