USA v. Full Tilt Poker, et al: Overview and Potential Sports Implications

By Eric Wargo and Ryan M. Rodenberg   The term “Ponzi scheme” has made its way into the sports, entertainment, and gaming world. Between Bernard Madoff’s indirect involvement with the New York Mets and Nevin Shapiro’s affiliation with the athletic department at the University of Miami, the words “Ponzi scheme” have rolled across the bottom line of ESPN often in the past twelve months. Commonly defined as an fraudulent investment predicated on payment of earlier investors from