Online poker firm Full Tilt was a Ponzi scheme

September 21st, 2011

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Simon Bowers
Guardian
September 21, 2011

Full Tilt, the world’s second largest online poker group, which was shut down by US prosecutors earlier this year, had been operating as a $330m (£210m) Ponzi scheme, milking its own players’ funds for the benefit of executives led by founders Ray Bitar and Howard Lederer, according to a new court complaint against the Dublin-based group.

The complaint has been lodged by one of America’s most successful white collar crime prosecutors, Manhattan attorney Preet Bharara, who was involved in the prosecution of Bernie Madoff and former hedge fund boss Raj Rajaratnam. He said: “Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme.

“Not only did the firm orchestrate a massive fraud against the US banking system, as previously alleged, Full Tilt also cheated and abused its own players to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Full Tilt catered to players around the world, including thousands in the UK, but controversially took funds from players from the US, where payments related to online poker were outlawed in 2006. London-listed gaming companies such as bwin.party and Sportingbet stopped accepting US players after the law changed.

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13 Responses to “Online poker firm Full Tilt was a Ponzi scheme”

It’s interesting how the “law enforcement” stubbornly prefers the small fish .The banking cartel is guilty of the same thing on a much grander scale. The Cocaine Importation Agency is untouchable while thousands of small players are targeted instead. Two heads of the same beast.
- “Cocaine Importation Agency” That’s good. I’m going to start using that. +1
  - Big difference. For one, FullTilt did not have the funds to pay out players for withdrawals. Basically, the money just wasn’t there. Banks at least have the assets to satisfy withdrawals of funds. Yes, deposited funds are used to lend money (e.g. mortgages); however, in Full Tilts case, the money just went into the pockets of the owners – money that wasn’t theirs. A bank can become insolvent, of course, but the shareholders of a bank can’t take your deposits and put in their pocket.
If you do it, it’s a crime. If the government does (Social Security for an example), well that’s good business.
- Social security being a ponzi scheme is a ridiculous statement made by a ridiculous man. The risk of Social Security is that with an aging population, people living longer, and a smaller proportion in the work force, the assets in the plan and ongoing contributions will not be sufficient to meet the large obligations. Social security, as it is being run, is not a ponzi scheme – this is a social obligation that has much uncertainty, was not planned well, and is not a fraud.
….who cares!

Beacon
Where’s the bailout. We can’t allow them to fail. What about the depositor’s money?
“Not only did the firm orchestrate a massive fraud against the US banking system, as previously alleged, Full Tilt also cheated and abused its own players to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

WHAT?! Massive fraud against the “BANKING SYSTEM”?!

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Texas Hold ‘Em on this website…when my mind just couldn’t take the ‘real world’ anymore. And no; never for ‘real’ money. My ‘Play Money’ was real enough to play hard. Was a well-run site, organized, good responses to ‘support’ issues. Returning players were recognizable after playing there for several years.

AND it was apparent from the tournies that not every penny of the entry fee was ‘awarded’ to the top nine – in a 90players tourney for example… And yes, FEDS, that would be the “House Cut”.

Regardless, a few months ago, when I tried to log onto Full Tilt, a chilling screen appears: something like “This Domain Name has been SEIZED by the Federal Govt of the United States.”

My question? Their website was upfront best I could tell about ther House Cut…UNLIKE THE SECRET SWINDLE OF TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF OUR $$$$$’s by our off-shore banking cartels! What’s the plan? TO NATIONALIZE IT?!
- I also played the game of holdem but I did play for real money. Your right liberty, the house gets a cut for their work in the set up and operation of the games. In any casino, the dealer needs to get paid for their labor, the casino needs to make a profit etc. etc. etc. This is realy about the banks cutting in on a big industry to yes steal from everyone involve and anybody passing by. At least with gambling, you know you could lose all of your money and someone else ends up a winner. The real plan here is for the govenment to get involved so they can steal and tax and control the money. They want “all in” in your pants, in your pocket, in your wallet, in your face, in your business, well, they want in to assure that if “you” win a pot, they can some how steal from you so that you lose. Their plan: STEAL THE POT!
  - Wrong! Yes, you could easily calculate the house cut. The problem here is two-fold. Most importantly, deposited funds were going into the owner’s pockets – much greater than any “house cut.” That is my money, not theirs. It would be the equivalent of you depositing money in bank, and 6 months later finding out the shareholders have it all, it can no longer be found, and you are out the money.
    
    The second is that the US made on-line poker illegal – thus, processing of US deposits into these sites was illegal. And the US government got it right – had it been enforced better, many, many players wouldn’t be out a combined $150 million, as FullTilt abused the system, owners took much of the money, and it can’t be repaid. This is precisely why it was made illegal, cause the sites are being run from Indian Reserves in Canada and off-shore islands, and the US couldn’t regulate it. This scandal proves why regulation of on-line poker was needed – players got ripped off by the Full Tilt owners, not the US government.
    
    People who played with small change like you guys never had a risk. I know a few guys who lost over $30k a piece.
Whether these amended allegations made by the government’s attorneys are true or not – or whether the original complain is – what is troubling here is the willingness of the American people to stand by passively looking like so many penned sheep, while real fraud continues to be committed against said people/sheep[?]. When the men with gold colored badges begin one of their “investigations” of anything, you can bet someway or somehow they will extract their desired pound of flesh. Grand juries are comprised of mostly career federal employees, thus indictments can be had fairly easily…then down the hill goes the ball, and usually justice and the truth along with it – not always, but often enough that the extraordinary success of federal prosecutions is above 90%…that in itself should raise your brow.
I don’t know what these men did…if indeed they did anything at all, really. I do know the very obvious and blatant hypocrisy on the part of the Justice Department is stunning. The government is bankrupt, morally, financially and ethically as is easily observed in most of its leadership areas.
They routinely operate nothing more than a Ponzi scheme in the financial affairs of the people, while one way or the other lining their respective pockets with our wealth. Disgusting, really. But, more disgusting is the willingness of most to do nothing about it whatsoever. Peace. RM
- And what could an average citizen do about something like this? Those who care…based on the dab of info we have.
  
  Mercy! I’ve been writing my elected representatives about… the UNPatriotic Act, for example.
  
  And though this doesn’t even BEGIN to pass a smell test – just another POWER GRAB (no telling how many $$$$ one) BY THE FEDS. I just wonder whose private property assets will be next – for whatever malarkey reason they conjure up…?
Not much different than any country’s government!