Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer Named in Civil Complaint re to Full Tilt Poker

The US Feds announced on Tuesday that Team Full Tilt Poker pros Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer have been named as defendants in a civil suit filed by the US Justice Department.

Both men are alleged to have “defrauded players” as part of, what the Government calls “a ponzi scheme”.

Bharara announced the filing of a motion to amend the forfeiture and civil money laundering complaint that was unsealed in April, alleging that Full Tilt and board members Lederer and Ferguson, together with Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar, defrauded poker players by not maintaining funds sufficient to repay players at the same time that Full Tilt  led players to believe that their funds on deposit were safe and available for withdrawal at any time.

“Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme,” Bharara said in a statement.”

It is unclear at this time whether other Full Tilt Poker pros will be named as part of the complaint.

This is the first time that actual poker professions have been named as part of a United States government investigation into online poker.  Both men are reported to have been board members of Full Tilt Poker in the past with some reports suggesting they had a stake in ownership.

Full Tilt Poker has failed to pay back its customers since the initial indictment was handed down on April 15 charging the company with bank fraud and money laundering.

CNBC began reporting on this news just after 12:30 pm EST and heavy national mainstream coverage is to be expected.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher