Tobey Maguire being sued

Actor Tobey Maguire, most famous for playing spiderman, is being sued for $300,000 in illegal poker profits.

Spiderman star, Tobey Maguire has found himself in a real life sticky situation recently, as he is being sued by some of the victims of a Bernie Madoff style Ponzi scheme. The actor has been indulging in swanky late night poker sessions complete with on hand masseurs, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and enough A list stars to hold an awards ceremony. Unknown to the general public, Maguire isn’t just a fantastic actor but he is also a very good poker player only some of his winnings have been stolen cash.
Playing unlicensed poker is illegal in Los Angeles so the rich and powerful celebs have to play in secretive underground games if they want to get their poker fix. These games are by invitation only and are organised by a shady socialite known as Molly Bloom. Apparently Tobey was a very frequent player at these games and a consistent winner. He is being sued because over $300,000 of his winnings were paid to him by the convicted fraudster Bradley Ruderman who is now serving 10 years in prison for operating a fake investment scheme.
The lawsuit claims that Ruderman, known as an incompetent poker player, couldn’t afford his gambling debts and paid Maguire and other stars back using his clients money. Other prominent celebs involved in the poker ring include Leonardo Dicaprio, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, along with Nick Cassavetes, the director of The Notebook. Many of these stars are also being sued for large sums of cash. The minimum buy in to these events was a massive $100,000 and they took place twice a week usually in swanky LA hotels.
The case is being filed by the bankruptcy trustee Howard Ehrenberg who is representing the investors defrauded by Ruderman. They argue that Maguire and his fellow celebs have no right to keep the money they won as it constitutes “fraudulent transfers” of stolen funds. The legal world is divided as to how strong this case actually is, with one expert calling the case “ambitious”. There is no doubt that those being sued will make a vigorous defence against all charges. Since unlicensed gambling is illegal in California some uncomfortable questions are bound to be asked by the taxman and the venues are going to have to provide reasons why they allowed their premises to be used for online gambling.