The United States Department of Justice has accused Full Tilt Poker of being a “global Ponzi scheme” that defrauded its customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars after the original complaint filed against the once popular poker room on Black Friday was amended on Tuesday.
Lederer And Ferguson Cited As Main Beneficiaries
Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson have largely avoided the limelight in the wake of the news that shook online poker earlier this year but the duo were named alongside Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar and Rafael Furst in the amendment that accuses them of laundering “approximately $443,860,529.89” between 2007 and 2011.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement that Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but was, in fact, a global Ponzi scheme. “Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited.”
DoJ Contend That FTP Owners Took Players Money
The amended complaint goes into further detail. Full Tilt Poker owed a staggering $390 million to poker players across the world and $150 million to those in the U.S. as of 21st March, 2011. However, it had less than a sixth of that figure on deposit in its bank accounts. Players were essentially playing with phantom money that had not been collected from other player’s bank accounts.
A further press release outlined the monetary values the DoJ are seeking from the four men. “Bitar received approx. $41 million, Lederer received approx. $42 million, and Furst received approx. $11.7 million. Ferguson was allocated approx. $87,486,182.87 in distributions, and received at least $25 million, with the remaining balance characterized as ‘owed to him’.”
It is understood that the quartet would not necessarily become wanted men if they settled the appropriate penalties despite the shocking nature of the money-laundering scheme. The Poker Players Alliance has expressed its sadness at the latest revelation and further developments regarding the ongoing saga are expected during the coming days.
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.
