Howard Lederer Settles Civil Case
Howard Lederer, whose name and reputation have been deeply tarnished due to his attachment to fallen online poker room Full Tilt Poker, has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit with the United States government pertaining to his affiliation with the website. In its complaint, the government charged that Full Tilt was essentially a Ponzi scheme, with founders and executives treating the company as a veritable bank account while accepting massive payouts.
In the suit, federal prosecutors in the state of New York were seeking $42.5 million from Lederer, who is said to have earned $44.3 million from Full Tilt over a 4-year period. Lederer, along with professional poker player Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, was central to the formation of the room back in 2000. In the months since its domain was seized and player funds were frozen in April of 2011, Lederer has minimized his role in the site’s operation.
Lederer, who has recently returned to the live high stakes poker scene at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, gave a lengthy interview dubbed “The Lederer Files” back in September in which he attempted to clear his name and set the record straight.
In the poorly-received video that seemed to raise more questions than it answered, Lederer claimed distance between himself and Full Tilt’s day-to-day business, noting that the room was based in Ireland while he resides in Nevada.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the terms of Lederer’s settlement with the federal government stipulate that he will produce two cash settlements of $1.25 million and $168,000, to be paid in 18 months and 36 months, in order to settle civil money laundering charges. Lederer’s two Las Vegas-area homes will serve as collateral for these payments.
Additionally, Lederer will be handing over a 1965 Shelby Roadster, two Las Vegas properties worth $975,000, an additional property worth $30,000, as well as two bank accounts whose values have not been disclosed. Lederer has not been criminally charged in connection with the Full Tilt case.
Full Tilt was purchased by former rival PokerStars last summer, with the latter agreeing to pay $731 million to the government to obtain Full Tilt’s assets and settle its customer debts. US-based customers are still awaiting reimbursement.
Though it has now been over 18 months since $150 million belonging to so-called victim players were seized, a repayment schedule has yet to be publicized as the case remains mired in Department of Justice limbo. Meanwhile, PokerStars has re-launched Full Tilt in regulated foreign markets, with most non-US players receiving full reimbursements.
