Tobey Maguire Sued For Role in Illegal, High-Stakes Poker Games
As Star magazine, Radar Online and TMZ have reported, Tobey Maguire is being sued by unnamed trustees who allege that the actor is "not entitled" to the millions he won in high-stakes Texas Hold 'em games due to the allegation that the man who hosted them has been convicted of a "ponzi scheme" to defraud investors. Hedge fund manager Brad Ruderman--now in jail after being convicted of fraud--reportedly lost $25 million in investor money while hosting secret, illegal games at Los Angeles hotspots including the Viper room and Beverly Hills hotel. As TMZ explains:
Ruderman's company is now in bankruptcy and the trustees are looking for money anywhere they can find it to pay his victims and other creditors. Now here's where Tobey enters the picture. According to the docs, Tobey, Ruderman and others laid down lots of loot in private, unlicensed, high-stakes games at posh hotels in L.A.....[Since Tobey was a good card player] now the bankruptcy trustees are going after Tobey, trying to seize his winnings so they can use the money to pay off creditors.
Radar adds:
In their attempt to win back Ruderman's losses, the trustee has claimed Maguire is "not entitled to receive the transfers from the Debtor, which transfers were compromised of improperly-diverted investor funds."
Tobey, according to the tabloids, is said to have made over $300,000 at various illegal poker meet-ups so intense that, as Star describes, "the door was manned by armed guards in bulletproof vests." Other celebrities that have attended the games and are being sued are, according to Radar, "The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes...record label owner Cody Leibel...and Las Vegas nightlife entrepreneur Andrew Sasson, among others."
