On Friday, a fourth lawsuit was filed against Full Tilt Poker for money still frozen in cyberspace. This time, Merchant Law Group LLP, which has offices in a dozen Canadian cities, is behind the legal action, which was reported by Pokerfuse on Monday. Read the press release.

The Canadian law firm commented in a press release on Friday, “Our class-action issued with the courts today asserts that tens of millions of dollars is owed to Canadian online poker players with real money accounts at Full Tilt Poker. Our firm has already received complaints from more than 150 people who were online poker players. Many of these individuals held thousands of dollars in their account prior to their accounts being frozen in June 2011.”

In June, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, or AGCC, temporarily suspended Full Tilt Poker’s license after the site was insolvent and unable to pay back customers worldwide. Recently, the AGCC took the additional step of formally revoking Full Tilt’s license. On Friday, Groupe Bernard Tapie conditionally acquired the assets of Full Tilt, a deal contingent upon, among other factors, the embattled online poker room striking a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Despite being located in Canada, the Merchant Law Group emphasized that its legal action is on behalf of online poker players around the world: “Merchant Law Group LLP has launched this class action litigation on behalf of all real money account holders at Full Tilt Poker. News reports internationally estimate the total value of Full Tilt players’ accounts is between one hundred and fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) and three hundred and ninety million dollars ($390,000,000).”

On Friday, Tapie acquired the former #2 online poker site in the world “subject to several conditions; the first of which is a favorable resolution with the United States Department of Justice.” Of course, the DOJ recently called Full Tilt a Ponzi scheme, so its level of cooperation isn’t currently known.

In early September, another Canadian law firm, Consumer Law Group, filed a class-action lawsuit against Full Tilt. A press release issued by that firm explained, “The class-action involves Full Tilt Poker’s illegal freezing of customers’ money that is kept in their internet poker accounts… Full Tilt Poker has not permitted Canadian players to make cashout requests, completely denying them access to their own player accounts and to their own funds.”

In August, Canadian poker players Zayn Jetha and Donald Whelan filed a lawsuit against Full Tilt. That came on the heels of a class-action suit by Todd tbt4653Terry (pictured) and three other players on the last day of June. Read about Terry’s lawsuit.

Tony Merchant, of Merchant Law Firm, told the Toronto Sun on Saturday why the latest complaint came about: “They haven’t been paid. None of these people have done anything wrong. They are entitled to get their money back. It is particularly unfortunate to these people. They are not like someone betting on a football game or betting a thousand dollars.”

Today, representatives of Groupe Bernard Tapie are meeting with the DOJ in New York to discuss the terms of the company’s conditional acquisition of Full Tilt. Gaming expert Jeff Ifrah (pictured), who has been associated with Full Tilt Poker, told PocketFives.com in an exclusive interview on Monday, “The investor wants to make sure this is a financially feasible sale. He needs the DOJ to release its hold on the assets and wants to make sure they’re not going to stick to their civil complaint’s fine of $1 billion.”

According to iGamingFrance(IGF), Tapie may ask the DOJ to release a portion of the funds currently seized in order to pay back players. IGF officials quoted a Tapie representative as saying, “We have shown that we have the funds necessary to repay player debts. We want to find ways where we don’t have to put in all the money.”

Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest. Also, check out these related articles:
Groupe Bernard Tapie to Keep Full Tilt Brand, May Reopen in January
Full Tilt Conditionally Acquired By Groupe Bernard Tapie
Class Action Lawsuit Against Full Tilt Poker Could Complicate Sale