‘Ponzi scheme’ poker firm could cost Irish jobs

AN INTERNET poker company that was blocked from operating in the US last spring as part of an online gambling crackdown was “not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme”, federal prosecutors have claimed.

The popular Full Tilt Poker website illegally raided player accounts to fund operations and make lavish payments to its owners, US Justice Department lawyers said in a civil lawsuit filed in New York.

Over four years, the company used $444m (€325m) in player money to pay board members, including well-known professional poker players Christopher Ferguson and Howard Lederer, investigators said.