UltimateBet has a serious problem on their hands and that problem was left over by the old management team.  Paid representative for the site, poker professional Phil Hellmuth, has gone on record stating that the new management team is doing everything in their power to clean up the mess left by some ‘bad apples’.  Hellmuth believes that the companies new COO, Paul Leggett, has personally cleaned up a considerable amount of the mess after extensive investigations into the reported wrongdoing at the site.  Says Hellmuth, “[Leggett] made sure that anyone affected negatively would have an accurate refund number. The people in charge were so impressed with the level headed way that Leggett handled the scandals that they began to consider him for COO. They knew that UB needed someone strong, with an impeccable record, to carry the torch forward and clean up the sites. They knew they needed someone who had a huge commitment to security and integrity, so that UB could win back the players that they lost."

The COO has a new mission ahead of him: facing a $75 million claim levied against the company stating that the software powering the sites poker division was manipulated by cheaters so that they could see their opponent’s hole cards.  The allegations came to light when an MSNBC reporter contacted a court-appointed liquidator about the voluntary dismemberment of Excapsa Software Inc. of Toronto, Canada.  The company at one time owned and licensed the poker software used by UltimateBet and other sites.  The claim was filed by Blast-Off Ltd. of Malta who has an ownership in Ultimate Bet.

The amount of the claim and the amount of money that is believed to have been stolen from UlitmateBet players doesn’t seem to correlate, making investigators wonder what was going on.  The poker site has stated that those involved in the cheating scandal are no longer associated with UlitmateBet in any way.  UltimateBet’s parent company, Tokwiro Enterprises, has already issued refunds to anyone that was believed to have been affected by the suspect games and tournaments.   

The fraud that was committed was by individuals who bypassed the anti-fraud protections on the site by setting up accounts that made them appear as if they were VIP poker professionals.  This status allowed them to get fast withdrawals and bypass the security system.  What’s ironic about the whole situation is that UltimateBet is considered one of the safest online poker rooms in operation today and not the only online poker room to be plagued with dishonest individuals within the company cheating their players.  They just happened to be the one site in which the individuals were caught.