Pokerstars Buys Full Tilt Poker - Deal Complete!

WVHillbilly

WVHillbilly

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my version of cliffs:

- formal deal will be completed within 7 days
- from deal completion, funds must be paid back to ROW players within 90 days
- FTP will be relaunched as an independent site (within 90 days) with newly appointed management team: more info on this will be announced soon
- USA players have big fund set up, can apply to DoJ to get money back
- all criminal charges dropped, can apply for license in future
- "fair" resolution for points and bonuses

more info here:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/2...stars-announcement-regarding-ftp-doj-1228781/
- Isai steps down

Maybe for the RoW player but I doubt the DoJ is going to give me anything for the 300k FTP points I had on April 15th.
 
kidkvno1

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They already are. The reason for the remission applications is to make it a hassle or scare some players into not submitting. There will be MILLIONS in unclaimed funds. Either because people don't know how to apply, they are afraid because they haven't been claiming their winnings or they think online poker is/was illegal, or the process is just too much hassle for smaller BRs. All that unclaimed money will eventually end up in the DoJ coffers.
Someone is going to need to post on how to submit an application.
I was hoping that i would get my moneys from Stars and not the DOJ.
 
KerouacsDog

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its not bloody working!:
 

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TeUnit

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can request what will most likely be partial payment for AP/UB also!
 
Pascal-lf

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Maybe for the RoW player but I doubt the DoJ is going to give me anything for the 300k FTP points I had on April 15th.

I'm sure lots of people will ask the same question and Stars will answer. The fairest option would be to convert the points at a set rate into cash and add it to account balances, increasing the amount you can request from the DoJ
 
WVHillbilly

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TheEngineer

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Here's the PPA statement, from http://theppa.org/press-releases/20...ment-with-u-s-department-of-justice-07302012/ :

PPA Statement on PokerStars’ Purchase of Full Tilt Poker and Legal Settlement with U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, DC (July 31, 2012) – John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, issued the following statement upon today's announcement that pokerstars purchased full tilt poker's major assets and settled its legal disputes with the U.S. Department of Justice. The settlement means that tens of thousands of Americans will be able to seek reimbursement of the more than $150 million they have been owed since April 15, 2011.

"Thanks to PokerStars, the PPA expects that tens of thousands of innocent American poker players will now have access to more than $150 million that has been kept from them for over 14 months. We applaud that the parties made a process for the restitution of the players a central component of the agreement, and appreciate the government’s commitment to the fair treatment of the players

“The government has not yet released the precise details on how reimbursements will occur. It is the PPA's position that the government must take all steps necessary to ensure the process for the players to recover their full funds is not unduly burdensome. PPA's legal team will remain fully involved as the ‘voice of the player’ to ensure our members are heard throughout this process. As we learn more, the PPA will quickly gather and distribute information on the reimbursement process to our members.

"At the same time, let’s remember that Americans still remain unable to play poker with safe and secure online sites based in the U.S. – a freedom and consumer protection they should not be denied. The PPA and its members continue to urge Congress to quickly enact thoughtful legislation to create a licensed and regulated U.S. online poker market that restores Americans' freedom to enjoy a game of poker from their home computer."

For more information:

Department of Justice Press Release:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pres...ettlement.html

PokerStars Press Release:
http://www.pokerstars.com/press/pdf/...ets-of-ftp.pdf

About The Poker Players Alliance
The Poker Players Alliance (www.theppa.org) is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of over 1,000,000 online and offline poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players' rights.
 
TheEngineer

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The DoJ Statement
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pres...ettlement.html


Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $731 Million Settlement Of Money Laundering And Forfeiture Complaint With Pokerstars And Full Tilt Poker
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday July 30, 2012

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.
 
usetheion13

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because in the end all we want is this....the poker in your underwear of course. :p
 

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pokerchris

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For those who live in the states that makes online poker illegal will have problem getting money back from DOJ.
 
dmorris68

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Just another little tidbit from the DOJ release:

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.
I think we all knew as much but that line makes it official.
And to clarify, I see that statement as great news. The DOJ is placing Stars (and presumably now FTP) on a level playing field with other sites once positive legislation occurs, which is a heckuva lot better than the prior assumptions that they would be perma-banned from the US market.
 
usetheion13

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For those who live in the states that makes online poker illegal will have problem getting money back from DOJ.

I think pokerstars is straight up gonna cash you out, i dont think the government is taking care of the payouts. but i could be wrong
 
Pascal-lf

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all US payouts will be dealt with by the US govt, it's not hard to read :s
 
dmorris68

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And to clarify, I see that statement as great news. The DOJ is placing Stars (and presumably now FTP) on a level playing field with other sites once positive legislation occurs, which is a heckuva lot better than the prior assumptions that they would be perma-banned from the US market.
From Stars' release on this subject:

Under the agreement with the Department of Justice, PokerStars does not admit to any wrongdoing. Furthermore, the agreement explicitly permits PokerStars to apply to relevant U.S. gaming authorities, under both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker brands, to offer real money online poker when State or Federal governments introduce a framework to regulate such activity.
 
Leo 50

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I seriously doubt if our points on FTP will be used for anything, especially cash.
We might get some percentage in PS points but that’s probably all they’re worth right now


:cool:
 
thebigdawg

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I am guessing Full-tilt will not allow American players like Pokerstars?
 
arahel_jazz

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"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."

Ummm... excuse me Mr. DOJ - Online Poker is legal under U.S. Law. It is the transfer of funds into the hosting site that is illegal.

Seems to me like someone has an implied law here.
 
usetheion13

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all US payouts will be dealt with by the US govt, it's not hard to read :s
"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" that sounds like they are dealing with it in conjunction with the US gov if not by themselves.
 
S

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I am guessing Full-tilt will not allow American players like Pokerstars?
I think you are right.
And also i think taxes will be payed. After all this is how all stared.
I do not think though in my country someone will be greedy enough to take a part of my 170 dollars :D
 
seqas

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sweet sweet :) were you awake or sleep Debi when it was announced? :biggrin:

i didnt have any money there tho but happy on you guys ways getting your money back finally :)

im just looking forward to re open :p
 
Debi

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I was awake and saw the news as soon as it broke! They were nice enough to ait until I got back from the tanning bed to announce it.
 
thebigdawg

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"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."

Ummm... excuse me Mr. DOJ - Online Poker is legal under U.S. Law. It is the transfer of funds into the hosting site that is illegal.

Seems to me like someone has an implied law here.

Yeah I have never understood why Merge and Revolution could allow US players but Pokerstars can't.
 
Poker Orifice

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I was awake and saw the news as soon as it broke! They were nice enough to ait until I got back from the tanning bed to announce it.
Ha ha ha. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Now I only wish I had left more dollars on Fulltilt than I actually have on there, lol. Wonder if I get my $75 tourney tokens? Does this mean I get my entry to the wsop Fantasy MainEvent ticket freeroll? (I was ranked 7th prior to the ME, 'top 100' won a ticket to special freeroll for a MainEvent pkg.). Just let me keep dreaming for a bit...... mmmmm.... :)
 
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