The Ponzi Scheme, made for the executives of the named site, was a US$ 440 millions.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Federal prosecutors on Tuesday accused executives at the online site Full Tilt Poker of operating a Ponzi scheme, siphoning more than $440 million in gamblers' winnings to board members and owners.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York also charged poker celebrities Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson of taking part in and profiting from the scams.
According to the complaint from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Full Tilt Poker and its board, including Lederer and Ferguson, "defrauded players by misrepresenting that their funds on deposit in online gambling accounts were safe, secure, and available for withdrawal at any time."
"In reality, Full Tilt Poker did not maintain funds sufficient to repay all players, and in addition, the company used player funds to pay board members and other owners more than $440 million since April 2007," the complaint read.
The prosecutor is seeking money laundering penalties against the poker champs and is also seeking the forfeiture of money gained from the alleged scheme. The original complaint from April charged board member Raymond Bitar and 10 other defendants with bank fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering offenses.
"Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme," said Bharara, in a press release. "Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited with the company."
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Barry Boss, the attorney representing Full Tilt Poker, was not available for comment. An e-mail sent to Absolute Poker's media staff was not immediately answered.
The sites for Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars have been shut down in the U.S., and are now embossed with the seal of the U.S. Department of Justice. They exist only as a means to pay back gamblers, according to settlements signed with the U.S. district attorney in April.
But the sites for Lederer, the self-proclaimed "Poker Professor," and Ferguson were still up on Tuesday, with links to the Full Tilt Poker site. Ferguson's site invites gamblers to "play me online at Full Tilt Poker," even though the site is shut down. Lederer's site offers a similar invitation. Attorneys for Ferguson and Lederer could not be located.
PokerStars spokesman Eric Hollreiser said his company's Web site is still operational outside the United States. The company is based on the Isle of Man, a British crown dependency located in the Irish Sea.
Source: Money CNN
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