Home / Poker News December 2011 / Furst, Lederer Lay Claim to Seized Bank Accounts
Furst, Lederer Lay Claim to Seized Bank Accounts
Posted by: James Carter. - Thu, 2011-12-01 14:31
Under the deal agreed upon with representatives of French conglomerate Groupe Bernard Tapie, the US DoJ would give its blessings for the acquisition of Full Tilt Poker by the above said group, provided it repaid Full Tilt’s international players in full. The DoJ would take the reimbursement of US players upon itself, using the money from the various Full Tilt accounts that had been seized over the last few years.
Full Tilt Poker board members Chris Ferguson and Ray Bitar have made it clear a while ago that they weren’t quite on-board with such a solution, by laying claim to some of those sized accounts, invoking Rule G(5)(a) of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims. Now, the two have been joined by Rafe Furst and Howard Lederer, the other two board members of the
online poker site who obviously have different plans for the funds in the said accounts.
Furst’s claim was filed in Los Angeles on Monday and it asserted interest and title in the Telamonian Ajax Trust. According to the claim, Furst has ownership and interest in TAT property, including bank accounts but not limited to them. Actual money amounts weren’t disclosed but a bank account number was listed in the claim. The account is held at Pictet &Co Bankers in Switzerland.
Howard Lederer filed a similar claim, invoking ownership of two bank accounts: one held at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A and another at Lloyds TBS International in the Isle of Man. The claim states that Lederer is the legal owner of the referenced bank accounts and all the bank accounts seized by the US government in the said forfeiture.
Whether or not the claims will pose a serious challenge to the ability of the DoJ to repay Full Tilt’s US players remains to be seen. One thing seems certain though: they may certainly delay the procedure.
