Full Tilt Poker denies Ponzi allegations
Full Tilt insists it was a legitimate poker business and not a global scam
| by Alligator Blood |  September, 22nd 2011 |
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Above: Full Tilt Poker has denied it was a global scam
FULL TILT has rejected claims by a US prosecutor it was a 'global Ponzi scheme' that used phantom money to pay players.
A lawyer for the collapsed poker giant last night admitted the company had made financial errors - but denied the shocking claim.
Jeff Ifrah, a Washington attourney representing the firm, said: "I disagree strongly with the allegation that FTP operated as a global Ponzi scheme.
"Full Tilt Poker may have made mistakes, but I have seen no evidence to support the DOJ's characterization of it as a global Ponzi scheme."
The comparison was made on Tuesday by US Attorney Preet Bharara in a new submission to in Manhattan federal court.
The document accused the company of paying its directors more than $440 million from player funds, even after initial charges were filed in April.
Four of its directors, Raymond Bitar, Howard Lederer, Christopher Ferguson and Rafael Furst, had been paid from player funds since 2007, Bharara said.
There are 11 criminal defendants in the ongoing case against Full Tilt, PokerStars, Absolute Poker and other poker businesses - who continued to operate in the US despite the ban in 2006.
A Ponzi scheme is a loose term used to describe fraudulent businesses which pay investors with money supplied by newer ones, until the cash eventually runs out.
The board of Full Tilt also face a class-action lawsuit filed in June by American poker players.
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