27 replies to this topic

[FCP Bob]

Great Newshttp://diamondflushp...ement-complete/PokerStars agrees to forfeit the amount of $ 547,000,000. to the US government over three years.Once the asset transfer has been completed, and within a period not to exceed 90 days, PokerStars committed to make available for immediate withdrawal, without limitation or restriction, other than required by applicable law, the online poker account balances of non USA Full Tilt Poker players. Such an amount is expected to equal approximately $ 184 million in total.US players with account balances outstanding, will be compensated separately. U.S. victims of the offenses allegedly committed by the FTP companies or other members of the FTP group as put forth in the amended civil complaint, shall have the opportunity to file a petition for remission with the U.S. Department of Justice, Asset Forfeiture Money Laundering Service (AFMLS), taking into regard the PokerStars forfeited funds, to seek compensation for their lossesMORE INFO AT THE ABOVE LINK

[FCP Bob]

http://diamondflushp...vil-settlement/Press Release from Tilt

[FCP Bob]

http://diamondflushp...s-for-relaunch/Press Release from Poker Stars

[FCP Bob]

http://www.pokerstar...doj-096492.htmlby Eric Hollreiser on July 31, 2012 9:00 AM2Today's announcement of our settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) closes one chapter in our corporate history and opens another.We have admitted to no wrong-doing with regard to our past U.S. operations and can now focus all of our energy and resources on advancing our global business, which now includes operating Full Tilt Poker. You can find details of the announcement at our PokerStars press center.We plan to re-open the Full Tilt site and, most importantly, we will make available all funds for players outside the U.S. within 90 days of the formal close of the deal, which will occur in the next seven days. The money paid to the US Government will in part be used to reimburse former Full Tilt Poker customers in the United States, through a remission process to be administered by the Department of Justice.Paying back Full Tilt players was a key component in our agreement to acquire the assets. This is not only important to the individual players who have had their bankrolls tied up for more than a year, but it's also vital to re-building trust in online poker and instilling confidence in the global poker economy.It's too early to begin disclosing many details about our strategic plans for Full Tilt, but our first order of business is to re-open the site, pay back all of the players and begin rebuilding Full Tilt's reputation. Going forward, we will operate Full Tilt as a separate brand, giving players another leading and trusted platform to enjoy the game. The re-launched Full Tilt site will bring back the innovative features, the authentic poker and the cutting-edge software that made it so popular with millions of players worldwide.Getting the site up-and-running and paying back players is a complex challenge involving technical, practical and logistical hurdles affecting millions of player accounts. We're confident we can work through the challenges and our track record as a responsible and responsive company will hopefully bring some comfort to the players that have waited so long for resolution. We ask for just a bit more time and patience as we sort through the details.One final word about the future U.S. market. Our settlement acknowledges that both PokerStars and Full Tilt are eligible to apply for a license in the U.S. to offer real money poker when states or the federal government offer such an opportunity. We look forward to this opportunity and are confident that we bring tremendous value, regulatory experience, market credibility and financial integrity to the marketplace.We're optimistic about the future and we look forward to sharing the next chapters in our history with you.

[TrueAce13]

Congrats boys!

[FCP Bob]

Brad Polizzano‏@taxdoodSince DOJ handling payouts to FTP U.S. customers, I expect gov't to prepare stock form w/ case details. DOJ press release should address.

[FCP Bob]

http://www.justice.g...settlement.html Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $731 Million Settlement Of Money Laundering And Forfeiture Complaint With Pokerstars And Full Tilt PokerFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Settlement Requires PokerStars to Forfeit $547 Million and Full Tilt to Forfeit Virtually All of Its Assets Funds to Be Made Available for Compensation to U.S. and Foreign Victims Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has entered into settlement agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker - two of three online poker companies sued by the U.S. in a money laundering and forfeiture complaint that was originally filed in April 2012 - that were approved today by U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand. Under the terms of the settlement with Full Tilt Poker (“Full Tilt”), the company agreed to forfeit virtually all of its assets (the “Forfeited Full Tilt Assets”) to the U.S. to fully resolve the charges in the complaint. Under the terms of the settlement with PokerStars, the company agreed to forfeit $547 Million to the U.S. and to reimburse the approximately $184 million owed by Full Tilt to foreign players, in order to fully resolve the allegations in the complaint. The settlement further provides that PokerStars will acquire the Forfeited Full Tilt Assets from the Government. Full Tilt’s U.S. fraud victims will be able to seek compensation for their losses from the Department of Justice from the $547 million forfeited by PokerStars. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “We are pleased to announce these settlements by Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, which allow us to quickly get significant compensation into the victim players’ hands. Today’s settlements demonstrate that if you engage in conduct that violates the laws of the United States, as we alleged in this case, then even if you are doing so from across the ocean, you will have to answer for that conduct and turn over your ill-gotten gains.” Under the terms of the settlement with Full Tilt, U.S. victims of the company’s alleged fraud will be able to seek compensation from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). The funds that will be used to compensate qualifying victims will come from the $547 million that will be forfeited by PokerStars as part of its settlement with the Government. In addition to forfeiting $547 million to the U.S., under the terms of the settlement with PokerStars, the company must make available to foreign players all balances that were held in the Full Tilt accounts within 90 days; the amount of those balances is approximately $184 million. Pokerstars will also acquire the Forfeited Full Tilt Assets from the Government. PokerStars’ acquisition of the Forfeited Full Tilt Assets will be complete upon the Government’s receipt of a $225 million payment from PokerStars, which must take place within six days of the entrance of today’s settlement. Additional terms of the PokerStars settlement include:

• Within 45 days of the acquisition of the Forfeited Full Tilt Assets, Isai Scheinberg, who is presently under indictment in a related criminal case, shall not serve in any management or director role at PokerStars. This provision is subject to re-evaluation by the parties upon the resolution of the criminal case.

• PokerStars is also prohibited from employing, or otherwise hiring, Full Tilt Poker insiders Raymond Bitar, Howard Lederer, Rafael Furst, Chris Ferguson, and Nelson Burtnick. Bitar and Burtnick are also named as defendants in a related criminal Indictment. Bitar, Lederer, Furst, and Ferguson are named as civil money-laundering defendants in this complaint.

• PokerStars is prohibited from offering online poker in the U.S. for real money unless and until it is legal to do so under U.S. law.

• The Government will maintain a portion of the $547 million forfeited by PokerStars as a substitute for the forfeited Full Tilt assets to cover the litigation of claims by other parties asserting interests in the Forfeited Full Tilt Assets.

The settlements entered today with regard to Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, and the proposed settlement with regard to Absolute Poker, do not constitute admissions of any wrongdoing, culpability, liability, or guilt by any parties. Under the terms of a “domain name use” agreement entered into between PokerStars and the Government on April 20, 2011, the company previously settled its accounts with U.S. players. In a related matter, the U.S. Attorney’s office also filed a motion requesting that the Court enter a settlement agreement reached with Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet that requires the company to forfeit all of its assets (the “Absolute Assets”) in order to fully resolve this action. The motion also requests that the Government be permitted to liquidate the Absolute Assets, with the net proceeds of that sale to be held pending the resolution of claims filed by other parties who have asserted an ownership interest in the Absolute Assets. The following allegations are based on the Amended Civil Forfeiture Complaint filed in September and the Indictments returned in the related criminal action: On October 13, 2006, the United States enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”), making it a federal crime for gambling businesses to “knowingly accept” most forms of payment “in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling.” Despite the passage of the UIGEA, Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet (“the Poker Companies”), each located offshore, continued operating in the United States. Because U.S. banks and credit card issuers were largely unwilling to process their payments, the Poker Companies allegedly used fraudulent methods to circumvent federal law and deceive these financial institutions into processing payments on their behalf. For example, the Poker Companies arranged for the money received from U.S. gamblers to be disguised as payments to hundreds of non-existent online merchants purporting to sell merchandise such as jewelry and golf balls. Of the billions of dollars in payment transactions that the Poker Companies deceived U.S. banks into processing, approximately one-third or more of the funds went directly to the Poker Companies as revenue through the “rake” charged to players on almost every poker hand played online. To accomplish their fraud, the Poker Companies worked with an array of highly compensated “payment processors” who obtained accounts at U. S. banks for the Poker Companies. The payment processors lied to banks about the nature of the financial transactions they were processing, and covered up those lies, by, among other things, creating phony corporations and websites to disguise payments to the Poker Companies. For example, a PokerStars document from May 2009 acknowledged that they received money from U.S. gamblers through company names that “strongly imply the transaction has nothing to do with PokerStars,” and that PokerStars used whatever company names “the processor can get approved by the bank.” Full Tilt Poker further defrauded players by misrepresenting that player funds on deposit in online gambling accounts were safe, secure, and available for withdrawal at any time. In reality, the company did not maintain funds sufficient to repay all players, and instead, utilized players’ funds to distribute more than $400 million to Full Tilt’s owners. By March 31, 2011, two weeks before the initial complaint in this action was unsealed, Full Tilt Poker owed approximately $390 million to players around the world, including approximately $160 million to players in the United States. At that time, Full Tilt Poker had only approximately $60 million on deposit in its bank accounts. Full Tilt Poker’s scheme continued even after the civil forfeiture action commenced and the related criminal Indictment was unsealed in April 2011. Full Tilt Poker continued accepting foreign player funds despite the fact that it had liabilities to players around the world for over $300 million, yet held only a small fraction of that amount in its bank accounts. Eleven defendants were charged criminally in connection with the original Internet poker Indictment, seven of whom have been arrested. The defendants who have been arrested are: Raymond Bitar; Bradley Franzen; Ryan Lang; Ira Rubin; Brent Beckley; Chad Elie; and John Campos. All of the seven defendants except Bitar have each pled guilty and await sentencing with the exception of Campos, who was sentenced in June 2012 to three months in prison. Charges are still pending against the remaining four defendants – Nelson Burtnick, Isai Scheinberg, Paul Tate, and Scott Tom who remain at large. The charges and accusations against them are allegations and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara praised the FBI for its outstanding leadership in the investigation, which he noted is ongoing. This matter is being handled by the Office’s Asset Forfeiture and Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant U. S. Attorneys Sharon Cohen Levin, Michael Lockard, Jason Cowley, and Andrew Goldstein are in charge of the civil money laundering and forfeiture action. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arlo Devlin-Brown, Nicole Friedlander and Niketh Velamoor are in charge of the criminal case. 12-232

[aucu]

Great News

[FCP Bob]

Forbes articlehttp://www.forbes.co...ull-tilt-poker/

[mrpaddyx]

Quote

One final word about the future U.S. market. Our settlement acknowledges that both PokerStars and Full Tilt are eligible to apply for a license in the U.S. to offer real money poker when states or the federal government offer such an opportunity.

The most excited part.A good day for online poker.

[Pokerkid555]

Fantastic news. Next order of business is the US lettin Americans play online

[wolfman50]

So realistically how soon until US players receive their money? Also if i withdrew a chunk a few days before Black Friday but obviously never received that money will that withdrawal re-enter my full tilt balance?

[FCP Bob]

wolfman50, on 31 July 2012 - 03:59 PM, said:

So realistically how soon until US players receive their money? Also if i withdrew a chunk a few days before Black Friday but obviously never received that money will that withdrawal re-enter my full tilt balance?

That's all going to be up to the DOJ so hopefully they publish instructions and have a plan in place.

[blakheart]

wolfman50, on 31 July 2012 - 03:59 PM, said:

So realistically how soon until US players receive their money? Also if i withdrew a chunk a few days before Black Friday but obviously never received that money will that withdrawal re-enter my full tilt balance?

The article states that we ( US players) can apply for a refund 90 days after the settlement closes, which is within the next 7 days. So bottom line is a little over 3 months from now you can apply for a refund from the DOJ.Pure guess here, but I would allow another month or so to get the refund, similar to tax refund. oh, and if you owe any back taxes good luck

[FCP Bob]

Party Bwin stock is down about 13% since this was announced.

[FCP Bob]

I hope the Feds don't get stupid and not pay back winnings.Forbes ArticleThe Big Question For Full Tilt's U.S. Players: Will They Get Their Poker Winnings Back?The big question for Full Tilt’s U.S. players: will they get their poker winnings back? Several sources familiar with the situation say no decision on this vital issue has been made, but there are people at the Department of Justice who are uncomfortable with the idea of paying U.S. players money that was won in online poker games played on Full Tilt’s web site. “The section that is in charge of the remission fund hasn’t decided that question clearly and that is the next big issue,” said Jeff Ifrah, a lawyer who worked for Full Tilt Poker. Move down PokerStars Will Pay $731 Million To Settle U.S. Government Charges and Buy Full Tilt PokerNathan VardiForbes Staff The ultimate decision on this issue will be made by the Department of Justice’s asset forfeiture and money laundering division, which operates out of the department’s headquarters in Washington. It will administer the remission fund that will be funded with money secured by Bharara’s Manhattan office, which will likely weigh in and give its recommendation on what it thinks should be done. Either way, a significant amount of money will wind up in the hands of Full Tilt’s U.S. customers, but there remains the potential some of the playes will be repaid much less than they had hoped.

[Lrgetrout]

FCP Bob, on 01 August 2012 - 03:43 PM, said:

I hope the Feds don't get stupid and not pay back winnings.

This is the US government we're talking about here, you know, the government that spends 1/3 more than it takes in every year? If there's even a chance of not paying us back, they'll keep the money.

[KingJames]

Ship it

[SuperJon]

I think I may have had a few bucks on Tilt. How do I find out?

[FCP Bob]

SuperJon, on 03 August 2012 - 01:54 PM, said:

I think I may have had a few bucks on Tilt. How do I find out?

They do have support I believe so I would try and e-mail support@fulltiltpoker.com