RACKETS

Feds: Full Tilt Poker a Ponzi Scheme

Defrauded players of $444 million.

The U.S. Justice Department just called Full Tilt Poker's bluff. The Justice Department is accusing executives from Full Tilt Poker, including poker celebrities Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson, of operating a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded players out of hundreds of millions of dollars. In an amendment to an earlier complaint against the online card room, the Justice Department claimed that Full Tilt executives misled players into believing money in their accounts was being kept safe, when in fact it was being used for owner profits. The Justice Department says Full Tilt owners paid out $444 million to themselves. "Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme," said Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.