Tilt's

Full Tilt's attorneys, however, say that while the company may have been mismanaged, it wasn't operating a Ponzi scheme.

Full Tilt's Collection Woes Bred Alleged Ponzi Scheme Alexandra Berzon 2011

Full Tilt's owners, meanwhile, were pulling $10 million a month from the company for themselves, according to the complaint.

Full Tilt's Collection Woes Bred Alleged Ponzi Scheme Alexandra Berzon 2011

According to PokerScout, a website that tracks online poker play, Full Tilt's traffic is down 48% since the indictments, which appears almost entirely due to the loss of U.S. players.

Regulator Closes Full Tilt Poker Website Alexandra Berzon 2011

Players noted that Full Tilt's bigger rival, PokerStars, was indicating the same processing problems.

Full Tilt's Collection Woes Bred Alleged Ponzi Scheme Alexandra Berzon 2011

The gambling commission suspended Full Tilt's license until a hearing scheduled for July 26.

Regulator Closes Full Tilt Poker Website Alexandra Berzon 2011

Regulators from the island of Alderney visited the Dublin offices of Pocket Kings Ltd., Full Tilt's software arm, and advised employees there that the licenses for a series of affiliated companies in Alderney had been suspended.

Regulator Closes Full Tilt Poker Website Alexandra Berzon 2011

But the U.S. says that Full Tilt's owners kept paying themselves millions of dollars anyway, fraudulently depleting the player funds on deposit with the company.

U.S. Alleges Poker Site Stacked Deck Alexandra Berzon 2011

This stopped most money from coming into the company, but it didn't stop dividends from electronically flowing out of the company to the bank accounts of Full Tilt's owners, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.

U.S. Alleges Poker Site Stacked Deck Alexandra Berzon 2011

On June 29, he said that he tried to withdraw around $2,400 to pay for rent and other living expenses and discovered Full Tilt's website had been closed down, following the U.S. suit and a subsequent raid by authorities in the U.K.'s Channel Islands where Full Tilt is licensed to operate its website.

U.S. Alleges Poker Site Stacked Deck Alexandra Berzon 2011

In a statement Wednesday, the Alderney commission, which had provided Full Tilt's gambling license, pointed to the Justice Department action and said, "The nature of the findings necessitated the taking of immediate action in the public interest."

Regulator Closes Full Tilt Poker Website Alexandra Berzon 2011