Tobey Maguire Settles Lawsuit in Poker Ponzi Scheme
"Spiderman" actor Tobey Maguire settled a lawsuit Monday that requested the star pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars he won in secret poker games held at Hollywood hotels.
Maguire agreed to pay back $80,000 to Bradley Ruderman. Ruderman, 48, is currently serving 10-years in prison after being found guilty of tax, wire and investor advice fraud.
The lawsuits claim that hotel investors who took part in an illegal Ponzi scheme paid winnings.
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A bankruptcy trustee also sued actors Gabe Kaplan and Nick Cassavetes. Kaplan reached his own settlement in August when he agreed to repay $27,000 of the $62,000 he received from the Ponzi scheme's funds.
Poker star Dan Bilzerian and 12 other people are being sued.
All the defendants contend they beat Ruderman at "regularly held, high stakes and clandestine 'Texas Hold 'em' poker games" at hotels and homes in the Beverly Hills area."
Ruderman allegedly swindled 22 investors out of approximately 44 million dollars, according to one of the lawsuits. Ruderman said he used a portion of the money to pay off his losses at the poker table.
"To obtain investments in the fund, Ruderman misrepresented to potential investors that Lowell Milken (chairman of the Milken Family Foundation and younger brother of Michael Milken) and Larry Ellison (the CEO of Oracle Corporation) were investors in the funds," stated Federal Court papers.
The scheme ran from 2002 to 2009 and concluded in an FBI investigation.
The suits claim the games were private events and were invitation-only.
Since the games were a violation of law, "the player had no legally enforceable contractual right to receive payment," according to the suit.
The judge will decide whether to accept or reject Maguire's settlement in a court hearing on Dec. 21.
