Former Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer released a statement via Daniel Negreanu's blog last month in which he, for example, apologised to the poker community and took full responsibility for Full Tilt's failure to protect player deposits leading up to Black Friday. Many believed that the timing of Lederer's statement had something to do with him wanting to return to the World Series of Poker this year.
On Wednesday, ex-Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer released a statement via Daniel Negreanus's blog on Black Friday (April 15, 2011) when Full Tilt Poker (along with another 2 major poker sites) was closed down by the United States Department of Justice and thousands of players couldn't withdraw their funds for years to come. Negreanu's blog post in red and Lederers statement in black.
Since Black Friday back in 2011 we have heard from Howard in a radio interview as well as an extensive "Lederer Files" interview conducted by PokerNews. Neither was received well and one of the more common objections to those interviews was the lack of personal responsibility for what ultimately happened. Much of the Lederer Files interview was spent deflecting blame and there was no real sense of a meaningful apology for his role in all of it. My assumption is that Howard did those interviews to clear his name to some degree, but I think it just enraged people even more. There was a smugness and an arrogance present during that interview that was off-putting to many.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has now hired a Claims Administrator, Garden City Group, and claims that U.S. players soon will be able to make claims. According to one news site, about 1.3 million players are still waiting for their money since Black Friday (April 15, 2011) and the amount owed is about $159,000,000.
PokerStars purchased Full Tilt Poker for more than $730 million in July 2012 - the amount included money for the DOJ to repay U.S. players. Three former Full Tilt Poker managers/owners have settled their civil cases with the government since then: Rafe Furst, Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson. Former CEO Ray Bitar still faces several charges and might spend the rest of his life in prison.
Click here to visit the Full Tilt Poker claims site.
Howard Lederer, the former Full Tilt Poker president, settled with the U.S. District Court in New York on Tuesday the 18th of December. Lederer agreed to pay more than $2.5 million to settle the civil suit that was brought on him by the U.S. government.
According to Bluff Magazine, "Lederer will turn over to the government two bank accounts of unknown value, a 1965 Shelby Cobra roadster, two Las Vegas properties with a combined value of approximately $975,000 and an additional $30,000 traceable to the sale of a third Las Vegas property".
In addition, "Lederer also agreed to pay the government a two-part money judgment, comprised of a civil money laundering penalty of $1.25 million and an additional $168,000 that will be liquidated from certain of Lederer’s other bank accounts. The money laundering penalty is payable in two installments, due 18 months and 36 months from now, and is secured by Lederer’s two remaining Las Vegas properties".
With Lederer's settlement, two of the four people that was "personally named" in the Black Friday case against Full Tilt has reached an agreement with the court. A few weeks ago, the former director Rafe Furst settled his case with the U.S. District Court in New York by paying a $150,000 penalty.
Chris Ferguson and Ray Bitar's cases remains pending.
Former Full Tilt Poker board of director Rafe Furst, who had a minor role in the day-to-day operations of the site, has settled the claims against him. Furst and the U.S. Attorneys Office agreed to a Stipulation and Order of Settlement that allows Furst to admit no wrongdoing in the case, but the government has seized an unknown amount from his bank accounts in Switzerland.
A group of cash game grinders, led by Las Vegas pro Nick DiVella, are doing everything in their power to get former Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer, who made a public return to poker last month, banned from the Aria poker room in Las Vegas.
Daniel Negreanu has been very busy as of late with travelling, playing poker tournaments etc. However, now he's back home and even took some time to put together a rant that he released yesterday. His latest video is about one thing, and one thing only, The Lederer Files (the video interviews with Howard Lederer about the Full Tilt Poker scandal).
Howard "The Poker Professor" Lederer, the previous Full Tilt Poker owner, is back at the poker tables. On Monday, he was seen taking part in high stakes cash games with other well-known poker pros at Bellagio's casino in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, he was seen at Aria's casino, playing against Nick Schhulman, David Oppenheim, Huck Seed, and other big names.
In the latest edition of the Weekly Rant, Daniel Negreanu talks about the upcoming 2012 World Series of Poker and changes that have been made, golf, what he thinks about ballerina shoes, Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson, and more.
In the latest edition of the weekly rant (was recorded May 2nd but released 2 days ago due to "techinical issues"), Daniel Negreanu talks about his recent success at EPT Monte Carlo, Amarilo Slim - who passed away on April 29th, a video with Howard Lederer discussing business ethics, and a lot more. Click here too check out the video blog!
In the latest edition of the Weekly Rant, Daniel Negreanu talks about a meeting he had with Howard Lederer and Annie Duke on the Full Tilt situation, a vegan party at Cyndy Violette's house, his new soccer team, golf, ZOOM tactics, and more.
Daniel Negreanu posted a video blog yesterday in which he talks about Full Tilt Poker and Black Friday, and some other stuff. It's not very often you see Negreanu pissed off, but when it comes to how Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Ray Bitar have handled things after Black Friday, Negreanu doesn't hold back his anger.
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Howard "the Poker Professor" Lederer are now getting further involved in the Full Tilt Poker scandal. Together with a few other persons in the Full Tilt management they are accused of taking 440 millions from their players and to have put them in their own pockets.
The final table is being played at the moment. The 6 finalists who are battling for the first prize of 250,000 AUD are Howard Lederer, David Oppenheim, James Bord, Barny Boatman, Patrik Antonius and Eli Elezra. Howard Lederer is in the lead with 175,000, closely followed by Oppenheim (160k) and James Bord (135,000).
Boatman and Antonius are far behind in chips but might still have a chance if they double up soon. Eli Elezra only has 15,000 chips left and he will for sure be the one who's sent packing next since the blinds of 1000/2000 +100 ante are eating up his stack.
The poker giant Full Tilt Poker is being investigated by a federal jury in Manhattan at the moment. The main owners of Full Tilt Poker, Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson are 2 named persons in the investigation. They are accused of money-laundering and breaking the american gambling laws.
According to Nelson Rose, an author of books on gambling law, the government is trying to make example on Howard (right) and Ferguson (left) because they are both 2 well-known faces in the poker world.
Former Full Tilt Poker owner 
On Wednesday, ex-Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer released a statement via Daniel Negreanus's blog on Black Friday (April 15, 2011) when Full Tilt Poker (along with another 2 major poker sites) was closed down by the United States Department of Justice and thousands of players couldn't withdraw their funds for years to come. Negreanu's blog post in 
