Plaintiffs Seek Sanctions Against Alleged Poker Cheat Mike PostleTwo New Filings Argue That Postle Is Both Using A Ghostwriter And Evading Service |
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Mac VerStandig, the gaming attorney in charge of two separate lawsuits against Mike Postle, filed two new motions against the defendant Tuesday morning.
Postle was accused of cheating in low-stakes live-streamed cash games at Stones Gambling Hall, where he won approximately $250,000 in mostly $1-$3 and $2-$5 no-limit hold’em games.
He currently faces a pair of multi-million-dollar lawsuits over the alleged cheating. One in federal court in the Eastern District of California against a plethora of plaintiffs, including whistleblower Veronica Brill, and a separate suit brought forward by Marle Cordeiro in Southern Nevada.
Along with the alleged cheating, Postle is now being accused of using a ghostwriter to file motions to dismiss, as well as evading service in the case against Cordeiro.
“Unfortunately, it now appears his approach to this litigation is identical, as he purports to be a pro se litigant but is, in fact, having his court papers ghostwritten by one or more unidentified attorneys,” read one of the filings against Postle.
A pro se litigant simply means to be representing himself. In Postle’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, there were no lawyers listed on the document, indicating that Postle was indeed representing himself.
VerStandig argues that someone without any formal legal training could not have crafted a filing as perfect as Postle did.
“While it is certainly common for pro se litigants to make legal arguments, and to use resources like Google Scholar to undertake legal research, their citations are rarely as precise as those of Mr. Postle,” the filing read.
An October 2019 article in the Sacramento Bee had linked Postle to William Portanova, a prominent criminal attorney in the Sacramento area. The partnership seems to have fallen apart, but the latest filing hints that Postle’s motion to dismiss is eerily similar to a filing made by Portanova in a completely separate case.
The ghostwriting allegations made by the plaintiffs are what led VerStandig to push for sanctions under the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. It is not expressly illegal to use a ghostwriter in a legal filing, but it is generally considered unethical to have a lawyer provide services without attaching their name to it.
The sanctions plaintiffs are seeking are simply to have Postle’s motion to dismiss struck from the record and to force him to appear with his actual lawyer.
VerStandig also filed a Motion to Alternative Service in Southern Nevada to go with his Motion for Sanctions in California.
He alleged that Postle avoided service for Cordeiro’s pending lawsuit on nine occasions, including ignoring emails and Twitter direct messages. Similar allegations were made against Postle in February over the pending suit in California.
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