Sara Jaye Weiss, for News
Tobey Maguire is accused of winning $311,000 while playing in twice-a-week poker games.Actor Tobey Maguire is caught in a tangled legal web involving a high-stakes Hollywood poker game and a jailed Ponzi scheme mastermind.
The "Spider-Man" star was sued for $311,000 in Texas Hold 'Em winnings paid off by $44 million hedge fund swindler Brad Ruderman, according to Star magazine.
The clawback suit, trying to recover cash for Ruderman's duped investors, claims the Beverly Hills financial advisor lost $25 million playing in celebrity poker games with a $100,000 buy-in, Star reported.
Maguire "was not entitled to receive the transfers from the Debtor, which ... were comprised of improperly-diverted investor funds," the California lawsuit charged.
According to Star, Maguire won the $311,000 from Ruderman while playing in twice-a-week poker games at the luxurious Four Seasons hotel and the Viper Room.
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The on-screen webslinger allegedly collected $110,000 from Ruderman on a single hand at a game in 2007.
Other reported bold-faced names appearing at the table: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
None were named in the clawback suit, although the magazine reported that director Nick Cassavetes, "Welcome Back, Kotter" star Gabe Kaplan and ex-Paris Hilton flame Rick Salomon will also be targeted.
The games are illegal under California law, which bars playing for money at underground poker clubs. But players are rarely prosecuted under the statute.
The Beverly Hills hedge fund manager is currently serving a 10 year and one month jail term after pleading guilty in the case.
lmcshane@nydailynews.com
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