According to a report by Howard Stutz in Sunday’s Las Vegas Review Journal, former Full Tilt owner and board member Howard Lederer has done at least one soon-to-appear interview regarding Full Tilt’s collapse, with a second interview still being negotiated with another outlet according to separate reports.
The possible reemergence of Lederer comes immediately after an amended civil complaint against Lederer and three other Full Tilt owners was filed last week by Department of Justice attorneys, as part of the Black Friday crackdown against several major US-facing online poker sites.
Lederer, who received at least $44.3 million in disbursements and profit-sharing dividends via his FTP ownership, has been targeted by the DOJ for at least $42.5 million in civil forfeitures. The latest court filings saw an extensive list of his personal assets — some of which is co-owned by his wife, Susan — tied to payments originating from bank accounts funded with FTP disbursement payments.
The assets include seven homes in Nevada and California, including the Lederers’ eight-figure “dream house” home-and-guesthouse complex in the Ridges area of Summerlin, just west of Las Vegas. Several upscale automobiles were also targeted.
According to the LVRJ story, PokerNews will publish the first Lederer interview. PokerNews, owned primarily by Lithuanian/Australian poker investor Tony G, was formerly a large affiliate for the Full Tilt site.
A follow-up interview may appear on the poker-discussion forum 2+2, according to that site’s owner, Mason Malmuth, who posted in a thread tracking the LVRJ report.
