Lawsuit against former Full Tilt execs settled

Full Tilt Poker’s troubles began on April 15, 2011, the day that has been dubbed as the Black Friday of American poker. The online poker brand, together with fellow card rooms PokerStars and Absolute Poker, was charged with money laundering, fraud, and breach of the US online gambling regulations, namely the highly controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which came into effect in 2006.

Multiple lawsuits were filed against former Full Tilt Poker directors Rafe Furst, Ray Bitar, Chris Ferguson, and Howard Lederer, all suggesting that the four officials have paid out to themselves the approximate amount of $450 million. In addition, it was alleged that former poker players were defrauded out of over $300 million. According to the lawsuits brought against the four directors, they had deployed the so-called Ponzi-scheme for the purpose of illicitly acquiring the afore-mentioned amount of money.

There is currently a remission process for US-based poker players going on.

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According to the US Department of Justice, a great number of former Full Tilt Poker customers have been paid out what they had been owed

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According to the latest reports, the lawsuit filed by former players Todd Terry, Steve Segal, Robin Hougdahl, and Nick Hammer entered settlement discussions last year. Settlement was eventually agreed upon by all involved parties towards the end of 2015 and was then approved on January 6, 2016.

Apart from the settlement related to the legal action against Ferguson and Lederer, news also spread about Ray Bitar being disqualified by Ireland’s Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to hold any corporate role within the country’s borders up until July 26, 2025.

After the UIGEA came into effect in the US, Full Tilt Poker relocated its core businesses to Ireland. Pocket Kings Ltd. was actually Full Tilt’s operational business and Rekop Limited had the role of a supporting ownership entity. No comprehensive details regarding Bitar’s disqualification were released but people with knowledge of the matter have pointed out that his penalties has been among the longest ones to be issued in recent years.