1:10-cr-00336 (2011), is a United States federal criminal case against the founders of the three largest online poker companies, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Cereus (Absolute Poker/Ultimatebet), and a handful of their associates,[1] which alleges that the defendants violated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and engaged in bank fraud and money laundering to process transfers to and from their customers.

2564 (2011),[2] included Full Tilt and Cereus (Absolute Poker), Ultimate Bet, Oldford Group, Rational Entertainment Enterprises, and many others as defendants and sought the recovery of forfeiture equalling approximately $3 billion in assets belonging to the companies.

[3] After the indictment was unsealed on April 15, 2011, a date quickly dubbed Black Friday by the online poker community,[4][5] PokerStars and Full Tilt stopped offering real money play to their United States customers.

[6] Three years after the start of the poker boom in 2003, the U.S. Congress passed UIGEA to extend existing gambling laws into cyberspace.

On September 20, the civil suit was amended claiming individual fraud by Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafael Furst.

[7][8] On April 15, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice seized the .com internet addresses of the three online gambling sites, replacing them with a takedown notice.

Full Tilt's eGambling license was suspended in June, stopping all online activities, and permanently revoked by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission on September 29.

[10] PokerStars and Full Tilt admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which ends all litigation between the government and the poker companies.

The United States Department of Justice later indicted them for services provided prior to 2006 in violation of the Wire Act, a case they settled out of court in the hopes of being allowed to serve the U.S. market at a later date.

[17] PokerStars immediately withdrew from Washington's market, and Full Tilt soon followed suit, but both sites continued to provide services to players in the other 49 U.S. states.

Since Federal law says nothing specifically about online poker, or any gambling other than sports betting,[13][18] Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, bases his case on a New York law that makes it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison, to run a game of chance where bets are placed within the state.

[20][21] Additionally, in April 2010, the former head of Intabill, a defunct payment processor in Australia, Daniel Tzvetkoff,[22] was arrested in Las Vegas by the FBI.

[28] In July 2012, the government reached settlements with PokerStars and Full Tilt and dismissed civil complaints "with prejudice" against the two companies.

[29] About 76 bank accounts in 14 countries were then frozen, preventing players from accessing balances held by the companies, according to the FBI's New York office.

[4] The indictment named eleven individuals who were each charged with four crimes, including Raymond Bitar, CEO of TiltWare - software company for Full Tilt Poker, Isai Scheinberg, founder of PokerStars, Scott Tom, part owner of Absolute Poker, John Campos, Vice chairman of the board and part-owner of SunFirst Bank and others.

"[20] Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, expressed his view when the indictment was unsealed:[3] As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits.

Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud.

[34][35] A lawyer for some of the defendants issued a press release stating that the phrase ponzi scheme was inaccurate, unfair and disingenuous and that its use was counterproductive.

[46][47][48] On June 30, European investors agreed to provide capital to repay Full Tilt Players in exchange for a majority stake in the company.

[57] Wynn Resorts allied with PokerStars on March 25 to seek the legalization of Internet gambling in the U.S., but terminated the accord on April 15.

[15] According to Brandon Adams, live poker gambling at casinos might be a short-term beneficiary of the crackdown, but often online and live poker are not competitive but complementary, with players honing their skills in cheap, fast games online before gaining the nerve to play for higher stakes at a casino.

[40] According to Time, the opposition to legalized domestic online gambling is depriving the United States economy from a huge potential source of tax revenues.

[62] On May 4, Blanca Gaming of Antigua, the parent company to UB and Absolute Poker who had already laid off 95% of its employees, decided that it would have to pursue bankruptcy.

[69] Bradley Franzen made a court appearance in Manhattan on Monday April 18, entering a plea of 'not guilty' to the nine counts listed on his indictment, including bank fraud and money laundering charges.

[20] Ira Rubin, indicted on illegal gambling, fraud, and money laundering charges was arrested on Monday, April 25, 2011, in Guatemala.

Notably, PokerStars had stepped in to cover the debts of its rivals, Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet/Absolute Poker, ensuring that players received their frozen balances.

The light sentence reflected these remedial actions and the broader context of Scheinberg's contributions to the online poker industry.

[79] On January 17, 2012, Ira Rubin entered a plea agreement in a Manhattan federal court in front of US Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein.

Rubin agreed to plead guilty to three of the nine counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud he faced and was expected to be sentenced to 18–24 months of prison.

During his plea, Campos said his processing of the gambling proceeds for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker was not in return for a $10 million investment in the bank.