This story is sponsored by PokerStars
Mark Scheinberg, chairman and sometime CEO of PokerStars, has agreed to pay US authorities $50m to settle claims he received “distributions” that were subject to forfeiture under a 2011 civil complaint against the company.
The payment to the US Department of Justice is “full and final resolution of any and all claims” by the United States over Scheinberg’s personal assets, in relation to allegations contained in the DOJ’s amended complaint of September 2011, which famously accused fellow indictee Full Tilt of operating “a massive Ponzi scheme against its own players.”
The settlement did not require the son of PokerStars founder Isai to admit to “any wrongdoing, culpability, liability or guilt”, a point subsequently reiterated by PokerStars head of comms Eric Hollreiser, who also emphasised the deal was “not in response to any action that had been brought against Mark.”
The consent order of forfeiture also emphasises that Scheinberg’s payment is separate and may not be credited towards the US$731m PokerStars agreed to pay in July 2012 to settle the civil complaint against the company, which also saw it acquire the assets and liabilities of disgraced former rival Full Tilt.
Mark Scheinberg finalising a settlement has raised speculation that father Isai may also be nearing agreement with the DOJ to settle the more serious criminal charges of bank fraud, illegal gambling and money laundering levelled against him in the original Black Friday indictment of April 2011.
Isai Scheinberg, along with ex Stars director of payments Paul Tate and part owner of Absolute Poker Scott Tom are still considered by the DOJ to be “at large”, and presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
In April, ex-Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar became the eighth of 11 defendants charged in connection with the original Black Friday indictment to be arrested and plead guilty, to charges of unlawful internet gambling and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Bitar struck a no-jail plea bargain to allow him to receive a life-saving heart transplant operation, also forfeiting US$40m in cash and other assets.
Article written by Katy Stirland
