FTP Boss Avoids Jail but Forfeits Millions

Apr 16, 2013
FTP Boss Avoids Jail but Forfeits Millions
Ray Bitar, former Full Tilt Poker chief executive, has seen his guilty plea, flowing from the Black Friday shutdown of his company two years ago, formalized by U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska in a Manhattan Court. Judge Preska confirmed Bitar's guilty pleas on charges of fraud and violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, with Bitar appearing via video link from California, due to his serious health problem that requires a heart transplant. Only last week Bitar's legal representatives revealed he would plead guilty and accept the forfeiture of some $40 million in cash and assets, and that 'he would throw himself on the mercy of the court to avoid jail time'. So judge Preska ruled that despite federal sentencing guidelines which called for imprisonment of over seven years, Bitar would not go to jail and was credited with time served in respect of the seven days he spent in detention following his arrest. Bitar has also admited the conspiracy with others in processing hundreds of millions of dollars of gambling revenues through U.S. banks by disguising the income as money generated by phony companies that seemed unrelated to gambling. He said: “I regret my actions. I know they were wrong and illegal. I am very sorry.”
General Poker News Poker Society News Back to articles