Full Tilt Poker Answers to Ponzi Accusations

Federal prosecutors in New York have fine filed a warrant for the accounts of four Full Tilt Poker board members, as the beleaguered online poker site hit back against claims it ran a "Ponzi scheme."

Warrant filed against FTP

The United States District Attorney's office for New York southern district this week commanded FBI officers to seize funds and property belonging to FTP board members Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and the Telamonian Ajax Trust.

This latest move comes just days after prosecutors amended the civil suit filed against Full Tilt on Black Friday in April. The new suit alleges that more than 20 Tiltware owners, including Bitar, Lederer and Ferguson, received up to $443 million from player funds, while the site did not maintain sufficient funds to repay all players.

Full Tilt fights accusations

Full Tilt Poker issued a statement slamming the US Department of Justice for its use of the words "global Ponzi scheme" to describe the online poker room's alleged illegal activities.

"While the government has taken issues with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, there is no way to characterize the operation of Full Tilt Poker's virtual online card room as a global Ponzi scheme," the statement said, adding: "FTP remains committed to identifying a suitable investor and paying back its players in full."