Home / Poker News July 2012 / Ray Bitar Released on Bail
Ray Bitar Released on Bail
Posted by: Jo Martin - Tue, 2012-07-10 10:36
The latest news about Full Tilt Poker CEO Raymond Bitar comes courtesy of Forbes: Bitar’s attorneys have apparently struck a deal with the prosecutors and he is going to be released in order to return to his home in Glendora, California. The person signing the deal was Federal Judge Paul Engelmayer, who decided to let Bitar return to his home for the first time since his April 15, 2011 indictment. The Full Tilt poker CEO will be placed under electronic monitoring by the FBI. The fact that he had voluntarily surrendered to US authorities probably weighed heavily in the bail deal.
After his surrender at JFK airport, Bitar was hit with an additional indictment, according to which, in addition to the accusations formulated in the original Black Friday documents, he was also guilty of lying to his
online poker customers and misleading them about the security of their monies. Everything considered, Bitar faces 145 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty on nine accounts and he has agreed to post a $2.5 million personal recognizance bond. He also added a warehouse of his to the bail deal together with other assets. Reportedly, he has 5 people vouching for his bail obligations.
The fact that he has been allowed to return home means little to a person facing charges which range from money laundering and bank fraud to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and running a massive, international Ponzi-scheme, in which he basically paid players out with money from new depositors. According to some, he may even have twisted the outcome of the games in order to best serve his interests.
Unlike PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker have been caught completely off-guard by the legal moves of Black Friday and they haven’t been able to re-pay any of their players to this day.
According to Bitar, his decision to surrender was part of the deal Full Tilt Poker was working on with PokerStars and the Us DoJ, the ultimate goal of which is to repay all slighted parties.
