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The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) this week boasted about their impressive 80 percent success record for complaint resolution. That left many a poker player scratching their respective heads. UB.com and Absolute Poker, which was forced out of the US market last April following a series of US Justice Department indictments ranging from conspiracy to money laundering, has yet to pay any of their US-based customers. Company bank accounts were also froze as a result of the investigation.
It was revealed this past week that a federal RICO complaint has been filed against UB.com (formerly UltimateBet). Lead plaintiffs include poker pro and author Daniel Ashman.
The KGC might be neglecting the biggest complaint of all concerning its agency.
"UltimateBet (aka Ultimatebet.com) is an online poker and gambling website that has and continues to serve players in the United States. 6356095 Canada, Inc. (formerly Excapsa Software, Inc. or 'Excapsa') and Does 1-10 are holding companies, licensing entities, marketing companies, software firms, and individuals organized in or residing in jurisdictions throughout the world that developed software for and/or operated UltimateBet by and through which owners of Excapsa sought to direct and shield its illegal and fraudulent activities from courts, police, and tax authorities. Individual Doe defendants are owners, operators, officers, employees, and/or agents of Excapsa. While UltimateBet is not itself a legal entity, it is the vehicle through which defendants operated various conspiracies to defraud plaintiffs and the broader public.
"Since at least June 2003 and until at least January 2008 Excapsa/UltimateBet did conspire to and did direct, effect, and permit the theft of over $2 million held in plaintiffs' online poker accounts at UltimateBet.com. Specifically, by creating and making use of an intentional a security flaw in the UltimateBet.com software, and with the assistance of owners, agents, and employees of Excapsa and its various subsidiaries that operated UltimateBet, defendants either allowed others to or did directly view plaintiffs 'hole cards' during high-stakes poker matches run at UltimateBet.com.
"With the assistance of owners, operators, officers, employees, and/or agents of Excapsa and its subsidiaries, the cheaters were further able to change their online identities to avoid detection and to improperly funnel their illicit proceeds through various UltimateBet accounts in a manner that would have been impossible without insider assistance. Through these activities, defendants stole or caused to be stolen at least 20 million dollars from plaintiffs and other high-stakes poker players at games run by UltimateBet."
Kahnawake claims that, of the 1,340 complaints in total, 1,178 were deemed valid with 705 resolved. Individual companies are not named and most of the complaints pertain to delayed payouts. While it could be entirely possible that most of the “unresolved” disputes relate to UB.com, there is no mention of this in the Kahnawake report.
The agency insists UB.com parent company is working on a proposal that would result in the liquidation of company assets in an effort to pay back players, at least partially.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
