Disgraced Former Payment Processor Suing His Lawyer

Former U.S. online gambling payment processor Chad Elie is suing his former lawyer Jeff Ifrah, claiming the attorney misled him about the legalities of processing online poker funds.

In the 20 page legal filing, Elie is suing based on the allegation that Ifrah knew online poker cash processing was illegal, but didn't tell Elie this so that he could keep making money from the processor. Elie claims that he paid Ifrah $4 million total, including $1 million in various commissions made through the processing firm.

Among the claims that Elie makes are that Ifrah hid documentation and gave bad advice. The suit also alleges that Ifrah did not tell federal authorities that Elie's company paid the commissions.

Last year Elie accepted a plea deal for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He was one of 11 people who were indicted by the Department of Justice in the April 2011 Black Friday poker crackdowns. He is currently serving his five month prison sentence in a California jail and is scheduled to be released in June.

Ifrah has not commented on the case, as he said he has not had the time to study the filing.