Full Tilt CEO could face 145-year sentence
The poker world was shocked this Monday by the news that Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar handed himself in to the U.S. authorities to answer questions still lingering from last year’s Black Friday disaster.
Bitar, who’s been in hiding since the D.O.J shut down Full Tilt following evidence of a series of crimes including money laundering and breaches of the UIGEA, turned himself in to the FBI in New York.
In an email leaked to TwoPlusTwo, Bitar told Full Tilt staff in Dublin that he returned to the US ‘to deal with civil and criminal case that are pending’ against him in New York, while adding fuel to rumours that PokerStars is to buy-out the disgraced Full Tilt brand by adding upcoming staff’s salaries would be guaranteed by Stars.
In a press release released by the U.S. Attorney Office for the Southern District of New York late on that day, authorities revealed that Bitar was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
‘With today’s arrest and the new charges brought against him, Raymond Bitar will now be held criminally responsible for the alleged multi-million fraud he perpetrated on his U.S. customers. The indictment alleges how Bitar bluffed his player-customers and fixed the game against them as part of an international Ponzi scheme that left players empty-handed,’ said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
‘Bitar and Full Tilt Poker persisted in soliciting U.S. gamblers long after such conduct was outlawed,’ added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk. ‘As alleged, Bitar has already been charged with defrauding banks to conceal the illegal gambling. Now he stands accused of defrauding Full Tilt’s customers by concealing its cash-poor condition and paying off early creditors with deposits from later customers. The online casino become an Internet Ponzi scheme.’
If found guilty of all charges against him, Bitar faces a maximum of 145 years in prison. And while the story keeps gathering pace, stay tuned to PokerPlayer.co.uk for all the latest Bitar news.
For the full email leaked to TwoPlusTwo, see below:
To all Dublin Staff,
By now you probably have heard that I have returned to the US to deal with civil and criminal case that are pending against me in New York. We have all worked hard over the last 15 months to preserve Full Tilt’s assets and potential in order to provide for the repayment of all players, and that continues to be our top priority. It is as important as ever that we all do everything possible to make that happen and, hopefully our deal with Poker Stars will very soon make our goal a reality. My return to the US is part of this process.
I am particularly grateful to all of you here in Dublin for your hard work, patience and understanding during this difficult time. I believe that your hard work and dedication should not go unrecognized, and we have made arrangements for Poker Stars to guarantee all July salaries. You should therefore have no concern about coming to work during this period. After that, we expect that your employment contracts will be assumed by the buyer of the company’s assets.
For those that need to reach me, I expect to continue to be available by email and phone starting late Monday, New York time.
In the meantime, please refer any operational questions to **REDACTED**, and any HR questions to **REDACTED**.
Thank you all again.
Kind regards,
Raymond J Bitar
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