More bad news for Postle
US-based alleged poker cheat Mike Postle has had a difficult time since he decided to file a defamation lawsuit last year. Postle owes the lead defendants in the case thousands of dollars in legal fees, and they certainly aren’t planning on forgetting about it.
Postle has reportedly not responded to requests for payment
Veronica Brill and Todd Witteles recently won an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Public Participation) lawsuit against Postle in June. As a result, a judge ordered Postle to pay the poker pros a combined total of $54,727. However, Postle has reportedly not responded to requests for payment.
With the aim of forcing Postle to pay the money owed, Brill and Witteles filed a joint involuntary bankruptcy petition against him on Wednesday in Colorado. Postle now has a 21-day window to answer the claim. If he doesn’t respond by August 12, then Brill and Witteles could receive payment through his assets.
Tenacious lead defendants
The accusations against Postle first started with Veronica Brill. She accused the poker player of cheating in a low-stakes live-streamed game in 2019. Postle subsequently filed a $330m defamation case against Brill and Witteles, but after their successful anti-SLAPP lawsuits, both poker pros are due to receive $27,745 and $26,982, respectively.
According to Witteles’s attorney Eric Bensamochan, Postle has actively evaded attempts to collect the funds. Added to this, the poker pro also reportedly owes Wells Fargo Bank and Discover Bank a combined $13,700 in unpaid credit card fees. The two firms have sued Postle over the debt.
After filing the joint involuntary bankruptcy petition this week, Brill took to Twitter to publicize the news:
Postle’s failure to respond to the petition would trigger Chapter 7, allowing Brill and Witteles’s legal representatives to attach liens against the poker player’s assets. The petition features a list of property which the poker pros could seize in lieu of cash payment. This includes Postle’s home in California, his vehicles, furniture, and collectibles.
Postle can challenge the petition by filing an objection which could result in another court case. If he fails to turn up to the court date or his challenge proves unsuccessful, then this would also lead to the seizure of assets.
Postle to make his case
Brill’s claims against Postle relate to his participation in a poker game at Stone Gambling Hall in the Sacramento arena. The gambler won upwards of $250,000 at the event, betting mostly in $1-$3 and $2-$5 No-Limit Hold’em games. However, Brill determined that Postle had somehow obtained information about his opponents’ cards from the live stream.
Postle has remained relatively silent on the subject
Despite several poker pros agreeing with Brill’s determination, Postle has remained relatively silent on the subject. He has declined all requests for interviews and even dodged court summons.
That is, however, until the poker pro confirmed earlier this year that he is in the process of filming a documentary to tell his side of the story. Produced by Dave Broome of 25/7 Productions, the film will focus on Postle’s poker career and how the scandal affected his reputation.
Postle has claimed that the documentary will prove his innocence, but its producer has argued that the film will not take sides. Broome made this clear on Twitter last year when questioned on the film’s funding: