Producers sue Maguire over poker winnings

LOS ANGELES: A group of investors has sued Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire to recoup more than $300,000 they say a hedge fund manager embezzled from them and lost to the actor in high-stakes poker games.The lawsuit stems from the criminal case against Bradley Ruderman, the chief executive of Beverly Hills-based Ruderman Capital Partners, who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in January for an investor Ponzi scheme he ran from 2003 to 2009.Ruderman pleaded guilty last August to wire fraud and investment adviser fraud, admitting that he embezzled millions of dollars of his clients’ money to spend on lavish personal expenses, including $5.2 million he lost in clandestine poker.According to the lawsuit, Ruderman was a regular player in a series of exclusive, and illegal, Texas Hold’em games held for celebrities and wealthy Hollywood business figures at various luxury hotels and private homes in LA and Beverly Hills. (Reuters)