Full Tilt Poker CEO Arrested in US
July 4 - Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar, who spent more than a year in Ireland trying to resolve the financial problems of his troubled online poker site, arrived back in the United States yesterday where he was promptly arrested by authorities.
Knowing that the U.S. Department of Justice would arrange for his arrest after his flight into JFK International, Bitar immediately appeared in federal court in Manhattan before posting $2.5 million bail.
The online gambling executive is one of five men out of a group of eleven indicted in April 2011 who chose to remain out of the country and not enter a plea. Six other men pleaded guilty to some of the charges, which ranged from money laundering to bank fraud and illegal gambling, and one has already been sentenced.
Bitar Tried to Negotiate FTP Resolution
After the Full Tilt Poker CEO's arrest, Bitar's attorneys said that their client had chosen to remain in Ireland and avoid U.S. authorities until now as he attempted to negotiate a resolution for the company.
After months of talks with French investor Groupe Bernard Tapie fell through at the last minute, Full Tilt Poker has been in talks with rival online poker site Poker Stars for the past few months.
Full Tilt Poker players were cautiously optimistic that these acquisition talks would result in their accounts being unfrozen, as hundreds of millions of dollars are currently tied up in the online poker room.
Poker Stars declined to comment on the status of talks following the news of Bitar's arrest.
"I know a lot of people are very angry with me," Bitar said yesterday in New York. "I understand why. Full Tilt should never have gotten into a position where it could not pay back players' money.
Bitar said that he had worked hard on possible solutions to get players repaid over the past 15 months.
"Today's return is part of that process," he said. "I believe we are nearing the end of a very long road, and I will continue to do whatever it takes to make the players whole, and I hope it happens soon."
Bitar Accused of FTP Ponzi Scheme
According to the government, players were led to believe that their funds were safe, even though FTP was finding it increasingly difficult to transfer payments due to U.S. online gambling laws.