Lawsuit accuses Cantor Fitzgerald of taking technology to benefit Las Vegas subsidiary

Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., a New York-based financial services firm, and several key executives are accused of taking crucial technology out of a subsidiary to benefit its Nevada gaming business, according to a recently released lawsuit.

Refco Inc., a bankrupt futures brokerage, alleged in a March lawsuit that Cantor Fitzgerald shut down its subsidiary Cantor Index Holding and took the rights of its key assets and intellectual property for use in Nevada.

Cantor Fitzgerald on Wednesday declined to comment.

Defendants named in the lawsuit include Canter Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Cantor Gaming President Lee Amaitis, as well as Cantor G&W L.P. Cantor G&W L.P. is the Las Vegas parent company of Cantor Gaming, which operates eight race and sports books, a poker room, and mobile casino games and sports betting app in Nevada.

The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that in 2002, Refco invested $8 million in Cantor Index in exchange for a 10 percent stake.

Over the next few years, Cantor Index developed gaming technologies, such as devices for remote gambling and a real-time mobile trading device.

The lawsuit claims that the transfer was done to benefit Cantor Gaming, without properly compensating Cantor Index. The move also robbed Refco of the opportunity to benefit financially from the technology it invested in, according to the complaint.

The complaint also contend that Cantor has repeatedly admitted to regulators, analysts and media outlets that the technology developed by Cantor Index and its subsidiaries in Great Britain was critical to the build-out of Cantor’s Nevada operations.

Jay Eisenhofer, co-managing director of Grant & Eisenhofer, said Cantor Fitzgerald still owes its subsidiary, and indirectly Refco’s bankruptcy estate, for these technologies and other assets which Refco helped finance.

The lawsuit asks for monetary and punitive damages for Cantor Index and the Refco estate under Chapter 11. Based in Wilmington, Del., Grant & Eisenhofer represents Refco bankruptcy estate representative Marc Kirschner.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.