Howard Lederer Scam
Most of the general public probably remembers Annie Duke from the Donald Trump-hosted Celebrity Apprentice reality TV program. She was the poker player who finished runner-up to the late Joan Rivers.
Those people might also remember how ugly things got between the two. Rivers compared Duke to a murderous Nazi dictator. Duke compared Rivers to a deadly disease. Neither celebrity’s image came out untarnished.
Of course, the poker community largely remembers Duke for a variety of different reasons. Mainly her role in a series of scandals and failed poker business ventures. Ones that left players out millions of dollars and Duke entering early retirement with a cushy bankroll.
- Diamond Flush Distortion of the Truth: Bill Rini Blog: QuadJac.
- Oct 02, 2009 The famous poker defendants who own the site - including Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey and Mike Matusow - allegedly accused the plaintiffs of using an automated play.
Nov 20, 2019 It’s a rivalry that’s pulled Duke’s brother Howard Lederer into the fray on more than one occasion. On September 27, 2002, Lederer posted an open letter on the rec.gambling.poker forum putting Negreanu down and detailing the many ways he had disrespected his sister. Patrik Antonius +1. Every scam that has hit the poker world has inevitably hurt someone, somewhere – most often the everyday player, in their pockets – and today we’re going to try to put a monetary.
Duke and Ultimate Bet
Duke was one of the faces of the online poker site Ultimate Bet. She was never implicated in the site’s super user cheating scandal. The one in which a group of Ultimate Bet insiders led by 1994 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Russ Hamilton gained access to the site’s back end. They were able to see other players hole cards and ultimately bilked them out of as much as $22 million.
However, Duke continued to take a paycheck and endorse the site. Even if it wasn’t directly involved in the scam, Ultimate Bet certainly turned a blind eye to the activity of members of its management team and consultants involved. Plus, it helped try to cover it up. Any endorsement of any of that is an affront to the poker community.
Duke and the Epic Poker League
Duke was also the Commissioner of the Epic Poker League. She cashed a fat check from this organization. All while it piled up millions in debt and ultimately filed for bankruptcy. In the end, Epic cancelled the final two tournaments of its first season. Of course, this included the League Championship $1 million freeroll promised to the top money winners. Duke still got hers though.
Of course, most members of the poker community are also keenly aware Duke is the sister of Full Tilt Poker founder and board member Howard Lederer. Full Tilt was booted out of the American market by the United States Department of Justice in April 2011.
Principles in the organization were charged with various money laundering and gambling law violations. Later that year, Lederer and other members of the Full Tilt Poker board were accused of defrauding poker players. Full Tilt was referred to as a Ponzi scheme. Apparently the company’s owners regularly raided player funds to pad their own pockets.
The DOJ accused Lederer of personally taking over $40 million in player funds for himself. In 2012, PokerStars bought out Fill Tilt Poker and settled the case with the DOJ. PokerStars was the one that paid back $150 million to players, not Full Tilt or its owners. Lederer also settled with the DOJ, admitting no wrongdoing and giving up assets worth a paltry $2.5 million.
Duke and the mainstream media
Duke has since left the poker world behind. However, she continues to trade in on the success she had as a player before the various scandals. Plus, the mainstream media continues to let her. In fact, they’ve show no interest in revealing the whole truth behind Duke’s involvement in poker.
Just this week, CNBC trotted her out as some kind of expert in decision making. She was referred to as a “world-renowned poker player and now a consultant and author.”
CNBC even went as far as to list highlights of her poker accomplishments. These included the 2010 made-for-TV NBC National Heads-Up Championship title, her 10-entry 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions win, and her 2004 WSOP $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better bracelet.
It completely ignored the previously listed low-lights of Duke’s poker career. Much to the chagrin of the poker community, who took to Twitter to express outrage at the fact mainstream media organizations like CNBC are still making it seem like Duke somehow represents them.
Sigh.. I wish Dan and Cnbc had looked more into the background of a person who was heavily involved and endorsed Ultimate Bet and Epic poker (both failed businesses that cheated their customers). So many honorable poker players- no need to pick scammy Duke https://t.co/oKVmu2bexC
— Ari Engel (@AriEngelPoker) February 7, 2018
Howard Lederer Scam Complaints
The entire thing was really just a plug for Duke’s latest book. The title of which is, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All The Facts. The title makes it sound like the book is about succeeding in business by treating decisions the same way a poker player does.
It’s an interesting concept. Maybe next time CNBC will introduce someone who truly represents the poker community to discuss it.
In the meantime, it’s hard not to think of that title as strangely apropos to this particular situation. CNBC is essentially asking readers to make a decision on buying a book without all the facts about its author. I think I know what most poker players will do.
Photo by Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
[show-table name=cta-pokerstars]
Daniel Negreanu’s vitriol directed at former Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer was back in action Sunday morning. Negreanu expressed sentiment that has been at times visible in cyberspace since the Department of Justice called Full Tilt a “global Ponzi scheme” last year.
Right after citing a Pokerfuse article that highlighted an apparent inconsistency in Lederer’s recent interview statements, Negreanu remarked publicly to his 202,000 followers:
The more research you do, the more obvious it becomes that justice will only be served if Howard Lederer goes to prison.
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) October 14, 2012
While Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst face civil litigation from the government, Ray Bitar, the former CEO of the firm, faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of the charges against him. The first three men are accused of being involved with the fraud and could forfeit millions to the DoJ, but they aren’t looking at any possible jail time for their alleged roles.
In September 2011, Card Player asked Dr. Henry Pontell, a white-collar crime expert at the University of California, Irvine, about accused Ponzi schemers not facing criminal charges.
“I’ve never heard of a ‘non-criminal Ponzi scheme’ before, but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t possibly exist,” Pontell said. “Civil charges may be filed where there’s not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Ponzi is a descriptive and pejorative term, but it’s really about a specific charge for fraud — criminal or civil.”
The complaint implicating Lederer was amended last month, as the government detailed where it says player money went. Prosecutors also tacked on more accusations of unlawful activity perpetrated by Lederer. He could lose his multimillion-dollar Las Vegas mansion, one of a handful of his properties purchased with alleged-fraud money.
Altogether, Lederer is potentially on the hook for about $42.5 million worth of assets that the feds say are “traceable” to illegal activities in running Full Tilt.
According to a court document, attorneys for Lederer, Ferguson and Furst plan to seek dismissal of the government’s most recent amended complaint against them. The defendants have until Nov. 16, 2012 to file the motion. Prosecutors have until Dec. 21 to reply, and then the defendants have a deadline of Jan. 11, 2013 to respond.
Negreanu’s Tweet sparked more than 40 Retweets and garnered a handful of responses, one of which was from poker pro Todd Terry, who is part of a class-action lawsuit filed this spring.
@toddbterry so much evidence against him I think it will happen at some point. He incriminates himself in Lederer Files its just bizarre.
Annie Duke
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) October 14, 2012
Card Player followed up with Terry, a former criminal defense attorney in New York City.
“It’s apparent that the [United States Attorneys’ Office] has made a decision, for whatever reason, not to indict Howard,” Terry said. “He could have been indicted on Black Friday and when they filed the amended civil complaint. It’s possible that his hubris filled [public relations] campaign will cause them to change their minds.”
“It’s also possible that one day Ray will start cooperating and give the feds evidence against him that they can’t ignore,” Terry added.
Despite the civil case and continued outcry from the poker community, Lederer returned to the poker tables this past week. He has been playing high-stakes poker with some of the players that the company once used to market and promote its brand.
Howard Lederer 2014 Arrested
Lederer has not been found responsible in a court of law for Full Tilt’s insolvency or failure to repay players after it was shutdown in American cyberspace on Black Friday.
Howard Lederer Scam Phone Calls
While players outside the U.S. will be reunited with their money thanks to a bailout from PokerStars, American victims are still waiting to hear from the DoJ on how they can ask for compensation. The DoJ did not return Card Player’s request for an update this week.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus