Full Tilt Poker Chief Executive Office Raymond Bitar has responded to the civil complaint filed against him in April by the United States Department of Justice, filing a complaint of his own on September 28, 2011.
The complaint is in accordance with Rule G of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims, which relates to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The claim states that Bitar, in addition to his ownership of the entities’ domains, had “legal and equitable ownership in various companies in varying percentages including ownership interest in Full Tilt Ltd. and Tiltware LLC.” Bitar also asserts that he legally owned the bank accounts of those companies as well as the bank account in his name, in addition to three other accounts mentioned in the amended complaint.
Though Bitar does claim the onus of owning those accounts, he disputes the DOJ’s assertions that the accounts were used in criminal activity and claims that his assets and earnings were derived from “entirely lawful hard work performed for said companies over the years,” and that, “The assets subject to forfeiture are neither proceeds nor instrumentalities of any crimes in any jurisdiction in the United States or elsewhere.” Bitar reaffirms his position, stating “I dispute the government’s forfeiture claim; both the factual allegations and legal claims, as contained in the complaint.”
With the bevy of class-action lawsuits, the loss of its gaming license, and the civil charges against its owner, the situation at Full Tilt Poker only gets messier as it tries to push through a deal with French investors that will pay back the US players. We’ll have more at GosuGamers as the plot continues to unfold. Stay tuned.
