A week after surrendering to U.S. law enforcement officials at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar has been released on bail. While he is far from “free,” Bitar may be able to sleep in his own bed in California as early as Wednesday.
According to a report by Diamond Flush at DiamondFlushPoker.com, Bitar’s defense team came to an agreement with the government before Judge Paul Englemayer was to hear each side’s bail argument on Monday afternoon. Per the terms of the agreement, Bitar had to come up with $2.5 million in order to avoid sitting in prison until his next court appearance, $1 million of which had to be secured. That secured portion is comprised of $280,000 cash and $715,000 worth of real property. The rest of the bail is made up by the value of a warehouse Bitar owns in California. Also according to the agreement, Bitar must disclose all of his assets and must stay in New York City until the documentation is complete. He will be subject to electronic monitoring and can only travel to the Central District of California (where he will live) and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York (where he will need to make future court appearances). Bitar must also turn over all travel documents, such as passports, and is prohibited from acquiring new ones.
The bail agreement came after a few days of wrangling that looked like it might result in Bitar staying behind bars for a while. Diamond Flush reported last week that during his arraignment in front of Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman, Bitar pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. His family and friends were there, ready to help him with bail, but the government legal team requested that bail be denied because they felt he was a flight risk. Freeman didn’t deny bail, but instead increased it from $250,000 to $2.4 million, with $1 million of that needing to be cash.
Bitar’s side felt they could come up with the money, but asked that he be let free while they were getting it all in order, as it could take a couple weeks. Of course, the government didn’t want this and the judge agreed, requiring that Bitar stay in prison until the bail requirements could be met in full.
On Friday, the defense showed that it could muster up the bail immediately, but the government countered once more, filing a Memorandum in Support of Pretrial Detention. In the Memorandum, the government essentially laid out reasons why Ray Bitar didn’t deserve the luxury of house arrest. It discussed how, despite the wishes of some shareholders, he was able to remain on the Board of Directors (as well as in his position as CEO) by arguing that he was too important to the search for new investors to step down. Some felt this was ludicrous, as potential buyers of the company wouldn’t want to deal with someone indicted for bank fraud and money laundering, but he was able to remain onboard. The Memo also explained how he lied to non-U.S. customers, allowing them to deposit funds while telling them their money was “safe.” He also allegedly received over $2 million in salary after Black Friday.
In addition to this, the government argued that Bitar was a flight risk in the Memo, opining that the additional charges in that week’s Superseding Indictment added as many as 145 years to his potential sentence. As Bitar did not anticipate this when he surrendered, it could be motivation to skip bail. Additionally, he attempted to access a $24 million bank account earlier this year, a sign that he would have the means to support himself should he flee.
Bitar’s bail was stayed until Monday, at which time Judge Lewis Kaplan, who had been presiding over the case, was to return to the bench. When he did return, however, he recused himself from the case, as Bitar had retained the services of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Kaplan’s former firm. Because of the potential conflict of interest, Kaplan felt it best to step away. While Diamond Flush says a new judge has not been assigned, Judge Englemayer stepped back in to hear the rest of the bail proceedings. Before he could make any final ruling, however, the defense and prosecution came to the $2.5 million bail agreement, allowing Bitar to go home to California once the aforementioned financial documents have been prepared.
