Howard Lederer is currently facing years in jail for his involvement in the Full Tilt Poker ponzi scheme scandal. He has disappeared from spotlight for the past year and a half – but a new interview series with Poker News catches up with him. Recently, he has criticised quite a few of his co-workers, including CEO Ray Bitar and a number of poker pros.He seems to be most upset with Phil Ivey, one of the world’s greatest poker players. Shortly after Full Tilt Poker was indicted on Black Friday, he launched a $150 million lawsuit against the company. Lederer states that the lawsuit jeopardized the company even further, squashing any chances that Full Tilt Poker had for a bailout.
Lederer also states that several other poker pros had a hand in the site’s demise. When Full Tilt Poker initially got wind of its financial troubles, players were encouraged to return the loans they had received from the site. Unfortunately, they refused to do so; and Lederer believes that had they complied, Full Tilt Poker would be in less trouble.
“As of the end of May 2011, the only member who paid back what he owed the company was me,” he said in his interview with Poker News. “I owed the company $700,000 and I paid it in late May.”
