The ongoing Full Tilt Poker saga has had another chapter written with Full Tilt’s attorneys hitting back at the U.S. Department of Justice’s claim that Full Tilt Poker was not a legitimate online poker site but merely a ponzi scheme used by Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Rafe Furst and the CEO of Full Tilt Ray Bitar to defraud players the world over out of in excess of $440 million.
However, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that an attorney for the beleaguered website, Ian Imrich, has claimed that Full Tilt was a legitimate poker room and that “under any reasonable interpretation, the world-wide operations of the online card room are not a so-called Ponzi scheme.” Jeff Ifrah, who is Ray Bitar’s personal attorney, backed up these claims though he did concede that the site was “mismanaged.”
However, the Epic Poker League clearly disagreed as they have hit out at Lederer and Ferguson this week by suspending the two players from the league. The chairman of the Epic Poker League’s Standards and Conduct Committee said on Wednesday “The committee voted to suspend Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson indefinitely, pending the outcome of the Department of Justice’s action.”
The committee is made up of a number of pro players and a few select other members such as tournament director Matt Savage. Annie Duke, who is a joint founder of the league, is also a non-voting member so she had no say on whether or not the two would be suspended but as the sister of Howard Lederer many will be curious as to what she had to say on the decision.
The committee, however, is there to create a code of conduct for players and many had previously questioned how Duke could create such a committee following the actions of her brother.
Neither Duke nor the DOJ have responded to the latest update in the scandal.
For those of you impacted by the FullTilt scandal it is time to pack your bags and move to a new poker site. We work with a few, reputable online poker sites so we can safely say you will not be treated in the same horrendous way as it seems FullTilt has treated you. Take a look at our online poker site reviews and pick your favourite.
John
- hailing from Watford, UK John became hooked on the game of poker ever since his uncle taught him the rules of 7-card stud during a home game at the young age of 15. He caught the online bug three short years later after turning 18 and began regularly playing Texas Hold'em SNGs.
