Ray Bitar Seized Home Sold for $1.8 Million

One of the homes seized by the government in the action against Full Tilt co-founder Ray Bitar was sold earlier this month.

A property with an address of 501 Gordon Highlands Road in Glendora, California that was owned by Raymond J. Bitar was sold on January 7, 2015. The seller is listed as the United States, according to the Los Angeles Block Shopper.

The newest buyer is listed as Jianhua Deng, who takes over the 4,959 square-foot estate that includes five bedrooms and four baths. Deng paid $1,880,000 for the property that was constructed in 2006. Located in the Glendora Hills Subdivision in Los Angeles County, records from 2010 show annual property taxes on the home to be $32,691.

In December of 2008, the L.A. Block Shopper published a short article announcing the purchase of the same home by Raymond Jack Bitar for $2.9 million. Bitar is described in the article as "co-founder and chief executive officer of TiltWare, a software development and marketing company based in Los Angeles that provides software development and marketing consulting services for the poker site Full Tilt Poker."

Several other homes in Glendora belonging to Bitar were also reportedly on the seizure list of the DoJ. Those properties were in addition to some $40 million in cash that Bitar turned over upon settling the Black Friday allegations levied against him in the mismanagement of Full Tilt.

As is widely known, Bitar and fellow Full Tilt board members Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst all entered into deals with the DoJ that required serving no time in prison for their mismanagement of Full Tilt Poker. A good percentage of the poker community was incensed (and some remain so) that the FTP honchos got off with what appears to outsiders to be a slap on the wrist.

Bitar's situation was different than his cohorts, as the Full Tilt CEO was found to have serious medical issues including requiring a heart transplant.

In April 2013, Bitar pled guilty to two charges of the nine he was facing - wire fraud and violating the UIGEA. Taking Bitar's grave medical condition into consideration and under the belief that proper care could not be received in prison, US District Judge Loretta Preska sentenced Bitar to time served, which amounted to only seven days in jail after being arrested upon his return to the U.S.

At the time, Bitar's attorney informed the court that the odds of his client surviving into 2014 without a heart transplant were a coinflip at best.

Bitar's current condition is not known, but he apparently had not received a heart transplant as of three months ago. Poker pro Allen Cunningham posted on 2 + 2 in October that Bitar's condition had worsened and that his financial situation was bleak.

"Ray Bitar is unlikely to live more than a couple years and is nearly penniless,” Cunningham posted.