Full Tilt Poker Defendant Ray Bitar ‘Medical Condition’ Suspends Plea Deal Talks

“Black Friday” defendant Ray Bitar, who was named as one of the key executives at Full Tilt Poker, is suffering from a medical condition of unknown origin.  The matter has resulted in the suspension plea deal talks.

The story was first reported by FlushDraw.com. 

Appearing before the Hon. Loretta Preska, lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that plea discussions in the case had been “superseded by a medical condition of the defendant.”  Bitar’s lead lawyer, renowned financial trial lawyer Jack Baughman of the Paul Weiss firm, then requested that the courtroom be cleared before discussing Bitar’s condition. He also asked that the transcript relating to that portion of the hearing be sealed in order to protect Bitar’s privacy.

When the courtroom was re-opened, Judge Preska summarized the closed-court discussion by saying, “The medical condition that [Bitar] faces makes it critical he try to resolve this case.”

A continuance of one month has been granted but could be extended further should Bitar’s condition not improve. 

Bitar was one of nearly a dozen individuals indicted on April 15, 2011 in connection with a bank fraud case related to online poker.  Late last year, PokerStars entered into a settlement agreement with the US Government that allowed the world’s largest real money online poker site to acquire Full Tilt Poker, which itself is now the second biggest real money online poker room. 

- Ace King, Gambling911.com