Poker Pro Charlie Carrel Accuses BPS Director of Financial Misconduct

A Play-by-Play of Charlie Carrel’s Accusations

Let’s set the scene. On Tuesday, February 11th, Carrel took to X ( formerly Twitter). According to him, Johnston was acting as an agent in an unregulated poker club where Carrel had previously played. In such setups, agents oversee transactions and credit management, serving as middlemen between players and the game organizers. Carrel alleged that Johnston “hard-vouched” for a player who ultimately lost $60,000 but has not covered the debt.

Carrel, who has played in BPS events and previously spoken highly of the organization, began to question Johnston’s credibility after receiving warnings from other players. Digging further, he found past discussions on the TwoPlusTwo poker forum suggesting that Johnston had a history of failing to pay out winnings. Other players also came forward with their own complaints, describing similar experiences in which Johnston allegedly failed to honor financial commitments.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Carrel posted:

It is with a heavy heart that I have to do this publicly:

I was working with Shaun Johnston of BPS

He was helping supply players to my games

He ended up lying to me and owing me $60,000 that he can't pay back.

I also found out that he has a repeated history of stealing…

— Charlie Carrel (@Charlie_Carrel) February 11, 2025

A Few Industry Reactions and (Even) More Unanswered Questions

As far as Carrel, he still remains unsure whether the debtor exists or if Johnston may have just used a separate account to play under a different identity. “I don’t know whether this player actually exists or whether it was just Shaun on a different account using a VPN,” Carrel said, calling the situation “very close to stealing.”

To no ones surprise, this controversy quickly gained traction in the UK poker scene, with several figures weighing in. Poker personality Donna Morton commented on X: “His reputation was toast many years ago, but people still thought the sun shone from his a**.” Another user described Johnston as a “known scammer” who owed multiple players over £10,000 each and allegedly responded to confrontation with abusive messages. Reports from poker players on various other forums didn’t differ much from these claims. They just further corroborated that Johnston had already been involved in financial disputes in the past, lending credibility to Carrel’s accusations.

As far as Johnston goes, he hasn’t publicly addressed the allegations yet, and when contacted for comment from poker outlets, he remained silent. However, past incidents involving similar figures in the poker world suggest that failing to respond could only further damage his standing in the industry. Carrel, meanwhile, has delegated further communications regarding repayment to his staff, citing the mental toll of chasing debts. “Anyone that’s been in poker has had a friend owe them money… It’s the most draining thing in the world,” he said.

What This Means for the Poker Community

If we’re being honest, these accusations are nothing new in poker. And yet, they’ve once again raised concerns about the risks of unregulated poker clubs, where transactions tend to rely on personal trust rather than platform security. While some online platforms do actually provide safeguards against fraudulent activity, private and unregulated games are still significant risks for players.

To his credit, Charlie Carrel did emphasize the importance of verifying the credibility of anyone involved in handling money within the poker industry. “This whole industry is built on reputation,” he reiterated. He also said that he plans to continue exposing bad actors in poker, working alongside other high-profile figures such as Dan “Jungleman” Cates to bring more cases to light.

As the story unfolds, the poker community awaits further updates and we continue closely following along.

Photo Credit: Danny Maxwell