DoJ Files $42 Million Complaint Against Howard Lederer

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has just filed a new civil complaints amendment against Full Tilt Poker owners Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar and Rafe Furst, which includes forfeiture charges totaling $137 million.
In the second amended civil complaint, it is alleged that the named parties purchased assets using funds from their “illegal enterprise,” namely Full Tilt Poker, and as the document filed at the U.S. Court of the Southern District of New York, states:
“There is probable cause to believe that the Defendant Properties constitute, or are traceable to property used in illegal gambling businesses.”
After detailing the financial history of distributions paid to the Full Tilt Poker board of directors, the DoJ document states it is seeking forfeitures in the following amounts:
$42.5 million from Howard Lederer
$42 million from Chris Ferguson
$40.8 million from Ray Bitar
$11.7 million from Rafe Furst
Furthermore, the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1952 has been added to the compalint, which prohibits the use of “interstate travel or use of an interstate facility in aid of a racketeering or an unlawful business enterprise.”
According to the document; “from approximately December 2006 through September 2011, at least $44,314,997.31 in United States currency that was directly tied to the criminal conduct described above was deposited into the Lederer Consulting Account.”
Howard Lederer then used the proceeds to illegally fund his personal accounts, retirement funds, mortgage payments and property taxes, as well as the purchase of numerous properties. It also states Lederer used funds to buy various vehicles, including a 2008 Maserati GranTurismo, a 1965 Shelby Cobra and four Audis, one of which was bought nearly three weeks after Black Friday.
The DoJ civil complaint also notes purchases for Ray Bitar, which includes two homes in California. However, specific expenditure details for defendants Rafe Furst and Chris Ferguson were not listed.