Tobey Maguire Sued Over Poker Game, DiCaprio, Damon, and Affleck Also Involved

Looks like Spider-Man got caught in a web - a gambling one. Tobey Maguire, along with over a dozen other high profile Hollywood celebrities are being sued in connection with a mega-millions illegal gambling ring that ran high-stakes underground poker games. Maguire allegedly won more than $300,000 from a Beverly Hills hedge fund manager who embezzled investor funds and orchestrated a Ponzi scheme as way to pay off his debts.

Brad Ruderman, the CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners lost $25 million of investor money in poker games held at the Beverly Hills hotel, Four Seasons, and the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard. Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were said to have played in the no-limit Texas Hold 'em games.
Others members who are facing hefty lawsuits include billionaire businessman Alex Gores, The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes, Welcome Back, Kotter star Gabe Kaplan, Paris Hilton's sex tape partner, Rick Salomon, record label owner Cody Leibel and Las Vegas nightlife entrepreneur and real-estate developer Andrew Sasson.

After being convicted on two counts of wire fraud and two counts of investment adviser fraud, Ruderman is set to serve time in a Texas jail until 2018. The people Ruderman embezzeled from are filing civil suits against those who won big in the illegal poker games, hoping to get back some of their money (good luck). But put your minds at ease ladies, DiCaprio, Affleck and Damon are not being sued. It would be illegal to put such gorgeous men behind bars anyways.

According to the lawsuit filed against Maguire in the United States Bankruptcy Court, these were "exclusive events, by invitation only, and that there was a regular roster of players consisting of wealthy celebrities, entrepreneurs, attorneys and businessmen." A source commented that Maguire won as much as $1 million a month over a period of three years. The trustee claims though that Maguire is "not entitled to receive the transfers from the Debtor, which transfers were compromised of improperly-diverted investor funds." California law states that it's illegal to play for money at underground poker clubs, but supposedly none of the participants are under criminal investigation. Maguire has hired an attorney to defend the allegations against him and argue that the games were not illegal. Yes, because everything about this seems on the up and up Tobey.

Does anyone else find it completely disturbing that our economy is still in the toilet yet celebs are gambling with all this money like it's nothing? There are much better ways to be spending your money boys: charities, the educational system, cancer research centers, online entertainment sites. Just saying.

Source: Radar Online