Full Tilt Founder Charged in New Idictment

Full Tilt Poker founder Raymond Bitar has been charged in a new idictment in New York. The revised indictment also named Nelson Burtnick, head of payment processing, and alleged that the pair defrauded customers and creditors and deliberately concealed the company’s cash-poor condition.

Prosecutors claimed that as recently as june 29th, 2011, Bitar and Burtnick were conspiring to launder money. This would have been after the first indictment against them was unsealed, forcing the company to stop operating in the USA.

Mr Bitar is scheduled to appear before a federal court in Manhattan today. Prosecutors said “In truth and in fact, [...] Full Tilt Poker could not return player money because as Bitar knew, the player money had been spent by the company and distributed to its owners. Full Tilt Poker’s internal financial statements reported that as of March 31st 2011, the company owed $390 million to players around the world but had less than $60 million in its bank accounts.”

The revised indictment adds two new charges against Bitar and Burtnick, those charges are money laundering, and operation of an illegal internet gambling business. This is in addition to the existing money laundering, bank fraud, and illegal gambling charges that were made in the indictment of April 2011.

Tags