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A big name attorney for the online poker and gambling industry, Jeff Ifrah, is being sued by one of his own clients for allegedly withholding information.
Chad Elie, a convicted online poker payment processor who was among those indicted during a sweeping crackdown on the industry April 15, 2011, alleges that Ifrah gave him misleading professional advice so that he could continue making millions of dollars in commission.
Attorney Ifrah was reportedly paid $4 million by Elie, including $1 million in commission for securing deals to process online gambling payments.
In his complaint, Elie claims, among other things, “Ifrah hid critical documentation” and that he gave “wrong advice regarding poker processing so that he could make a windfall from Elie’s payment processing service as well as clients Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars.”
The complaint alleges that Ifrah received a memorandum from the law firm of Akin Gump whereby government attorneys warned that third party online gambling processors were illegal. Ifrah is said to have withheld this information from his client.
Elie also makes the shocking assertion that Ifrah cooperated with federal agents to keep from being indicted himself.
The high profile attorney was reported to have been listed on the payroll of Sun Trust Bank in Saint George, Utah, the same bank that processed online gambling transactions utilizing Elie’s company.
Irah was previously an attorney with Miami’s biggest lawfirm, Greenberg Traurig. He abruptly left the firm, taking all of his deep pocketed online gambling clients with him.
Ifrah has yet to respond to the complaint, which can be found in its entirety here.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
