U.S. Government Seeking Claims Administrators for Full Tilt Repayments
The United States Government is searching for people who can help pay back the multitude of Full Tilt customers in the U.S. who have been dreaming of the eventual return of their funds. The money is all available thanks to the sale of Full Tilt to PokerStars, which was finalized last week. What the DOJ is looking for is a Claims Administrator to facilitate the process of payments to all of the victims of Full Tilt.
A formal job listing was posted recently on the employment section of the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of New York’s website for the Claims Administrator position.
As an introduction to the posting, the USAO explained that “in some instances, depending on the circumstances and exigencies of the case, the United States Attorney’s Office will solicit applications” for positions such as claims administrators, monitors, receivers, and special masters. Essentially, the USAO hires independent contractors to help it with some cases, and the Full Tilt matter is one such case.
In the paragraph of the Claims Administrator posting specific to the role at hand, the USAO explains that about $159 million is “immediately available for distribution via the remission process.” The Claims Administrator is needed to “design and execute a process to solicit, receive, and evaluate claims, and to process payments, for losses incurred by U.S. victims.”
The person or persons contracted need to go through records from Full Tilt Poker and obtain and evaluate any information available from customers to determine how much money to distribute.
In the Claims Administrator application, applicants must provide the names of everyone that will participate in the claims process and list all contact each individual and their relatives have had with Full Tilt, PokerStars, Absolute Poker, or any other online gambling company.
Any possible conflicts of interest when it comes to the relationship of each individual with any online poker or gambling firm must also be detailed. The USAO is specifically looking for reasons why an applicant might not be able to maintain independence, citing things like “financial relationships, stock ownership, or prior consummated or contemplated business transactions” between the individuals and the gaming companies.
Of course, as one would expect, the USAO also wants to know about the applicant’s qualifications to actually conduct claims administration. Applications will be reviewed by Sharon Levin, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the USAO for the Southern District of New York. Applications are due August 31.
The money to repay Full Tilt customers comes from PokerStars, which acquired the assets of Full Tilt Poker several days go. The deal was part of an agreement with PokerStars, Full Tilt, and the U.S. Department of Justice that saw PokerStars forfeit $547 million to the DOJ, $225 million of which was paid last week. The DOJ is only allowing PokerStars to repay “rest of the world” customers, while the U.S. Government is taking care of the remission process for players in the United States. No details have been revealed as to what that process will actually entail.
In the meantime, PokerStars is working on the re-launch of Full Tilt Poker, with plans to get its former rival up and running by November 6. Full Tilt will operate as its own brand with its own software and promotions. Stay tuned to PocketFives for the latest Full Tilt news.
