Epic Poker League Suspends Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer

The Epic Poker League responded to the amended complaint against Full Tilt Poker that was filed by the U.S. Justice Department yesterday by suspending two league members who were named in the complaint. Both Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer were suspended from the league due to the serious nature of the allegations.

“We’re not acting as judge and jury,” said Stephem Martin, head of the EPL Standards and Conduct Committee, in an interview with Bluff Magazine. “All we did is take action to suspend them pending the outcome of the case.”

“For us it’s very difficult to understand the facts of what has occurred. We’re not in a position to view that, but with the types of allegations, especially since they involve directly the poker community, we believe this is going to be the best course of action.”

The suspension is expected to remain indefinite until the civil suit has been resolved, at which point the Standards and Conduct Committee will reconsider the case.

While both Lederer and Ferguson are high profile players, the suspension of Lederer was perhaps the more interesting action of the two, if only because Lederer is the brother of EPL Commissioner Annie Duke. However, Duke was not involved in the decision to suspend the two players. That decision was entirely the perview of the Standards and Conduct Committee, which includes tournament director Matt Savage, along with eight prominent players including Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Joe Hachem and Nick Schulman. Bloch recused himself from voting on the matter due to being a member of Team Full Tilt.

While the action will mean that neither player can participate in any Epic Poker League events, it’s unlikely that fans of the league or players in league events will notice any difference. Both Lederer and Ferguson have maintained a low profile since the Black Friday events of April 15, and haven’t been participating in any major poker events, including EPL events.