Howard Lederer Off The Hook For $2.5m

Full Tilt director Howard Lederer was facing a $42.5 million lawsuit for his involvement with the tarnished online poker site, but after months of wrangling with the Department Of Justice it appears  he has now agreed to pay up over $2.5 million in cash and assets to settle the dispute.
On Tuesday, Lederer agreed to complete payment in two 18 month installments, with the deal including paying a $1.25 million money-laundering penalty, forfeiture of two Las Vegas properties worth a total of $975,000, handing over $168,000 in cash from his various liquidated bank accounts, as well as his 1965 Shelby Cobra Roadster.
In return, Lederer agreed not to work or receive money from any online gambling website in the U.S.A unless the activity becomes legalized stateside. In addition, he admitted no wrongdoing in the case with the 49 year contending that Full Tilt was a “legitimate business providing services to its customers within the bounds of the law, and that prior to April 15, 2011, he was unaware of any wrongful activity at Full Tilt including that the company had become unable to satisfy its player account liabilities.”
Originally, prosecutors described Full Tilt Poker as a Ponzi scheme designed to divert gamblers’ funds into the operators’ own pockets. However, after PokerStars bought Full Tilt with around $300 million set aside to refund players their missing funds, the  criminal case was largely resolved. Full Tilt board member Howard Lederer has never been charged with a crime. Meanwhile,  fellow director Rafe Furst settled with th DoJ after forfeiting a trust account and paying a penalty of $150,000 penalty, while Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson has yet to settle his case. Finally, Raymond Bitar faces the prospect of life behind bars after surrendering himself to authorities.