“As the proposed Amended Complaint describes in detail, Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme. As a result of our enforcement actions this alleged self-dealing scheme came to light. Not only did the firm orchestrate a massive fraud against the U.S. banking system, as previously alleged, Full Tilt also cheated and abused its own players to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. As described, 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 with the company.”
This announcement came Monday, after the Department of Justice announced that it had amended its original civil complaint to included Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst. The new allegations claim that the poker celebrities lied to their customers, the players, about having the necessary cash on hand to repay the players and, in fact, stole this money to lavishly line their own pockets; action the DOJ likened it to a “Ponzi Scheme.” Full Tilt seems to have taken particular exception to the term used by the DOJ, as evident by its recent response:
“Full Tilt Poker is not a Ponzi Scheme
On September 19, 2011, the Department of Justice issued a release stating that Full Tilt Poker was ‘A Global Ponzi Scheme.’ While the government has taken issue with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, there is no way to characterize the operation of Full Tilt Poker’s virtual online card room as a global Ponzi scheme.
A ‘Ponzi’ scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi schemes do not involve any legitimate investment, but rather use the new investor funds to pay ‘dividends’ to the initial investors.
Despite recent events, FTP remains committed to identifying a suitable investor and paying back its players in full."
On September 19, 2011, the Department of Justice issued a release stating that Full Tilt Poker was ‘A Global Ponzi Scheme.’ While the government has taken issue with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, there is no way to characterize the operation of Full Tilt Poker’s virtual online card room as a global Ponzi scheme.
A ‘Ponzi’ scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi schemes do not involve any legitimate investment, but rather use the new investor funds to pay ‘dividends’ to the initial investors.
Despite recent events, FTP remains committed to identifying a suitable investor and paying back its players in full."
Warrants have been issued for all “funds and other property” in bank accounts in the names of Lederer, Ferguson, and Full Tilt CEO Raymond Bitar in addition to various companies associated with those named in the indictments, such as “HH Lederer Consulting LLC.”
