Is there a plunder going on Down Under?

The lesser-known half of the poker-playing Hachem Brothers of Australia has had his residence raided by local tax agents.

According to a report in an Australian newspaper, Tony Hachem’s residence in Alphington, Australia, near Melbourne, was raided Wednesday by local tax agents who seized a variety of documents.

Tony Hachem is the brother of Joe Hachem, who became world-famous when he won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2005.

The raid occurred just hours before both Hachems competed in a poker tournament at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

The seized documents related to a company for which Tony Hachem worked as an accountant five years ago. He told the newspaper, “I am an innocent party” and described the raid as “a disgrace.”

He continued: “They had three cars, they flashed their badges, two of the guys announced they were police. They came with a warrant and I was in shock. I live with my mother, who has emphysema. She was in shock. One of the tax officials told me the raid was on the orders of the Tax Commissioner. There were some documents they wanted and I gave them to them.”

According to tournament records, Tony Hachem has won $73,588 in his career playing tournament poker while Joe Hachem has won $10,561,131.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)