In breaking news, PocketFives can independently confirm that PokerStars has paid $225 million to the U.S. Department of Justice, consummating the asset transfer of the now-defunct Full Tilt Poker. An e-mail PocketFives received on Thursday morning from Full Tilt Poker legal counsel Cozen O’Connor broke the news, saying, “The asset transfer to PokerStars was consummated immediately following the United States Government’s receipt of PokerStars’ first payment of $225 million due under PokerStars’ settlement agreement with the U.S. DOJ, which payment was confirmed this morning, August 9, 2012.”

PokerStarsforfeited $547 million to the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its purchase of the assets of Full Tilt Poker. In addition, it is charged with refunding non-U.S. players, a process that is expected to occur within 90 days. PokerStars had six business days to cough up the $225 million.

Speaking to the timeline for non-U.S. players to have access to their Full Tilt Poker bankrolls, which were frozen in June 2011 when the Alderney Gambling Control Commission suspended Full Tilt Poker’s operating license, a PokerStars spokesperson posted on Two Plus Two, “Now that the transaction is complete, we will definitely re-launch [Full Tilt] within the next 90 days, but we’re probably looking at late October or early November.”

A PokerStars spokesperson told PocketFives on Thursday, “The transaction formally closed today and we are committed to paying back Full Tilt Poker players outside of the U.S. and re-launching the Full Tilt Poker site within 90 days by November 6. “

Cozen O’Connor attorney Anne Madonia told PocketFives on Tuesday that the Full Tilt Poker brand name still carries value: “The future of Full Tilt Poker is in the hands of PokerStars. For the last 16 months, Full Tilt Poker’s directors and managers undertook enormous efforts in a very difficult situation to maintain the value of Full Tilt Poker and its assets, including the employees, to accomplish this asset transfer. The Full Tilt Poker brand continues to have value today because of these efforts.”

On whether players will be loyal to a new Full Tilt Poker or if the brand’s legal woes over the last 16 months have rendered it tarnished, Madonia speculated, “Non-U.S. players will be repaid within 90 days, and that’s a positive. PokerStars is respected in the poker community and someone else will own Full Tilt Poker; the brand still has a lot of value.”

Meanwhile, U.S. players will be required to submit claims with the U.S. Government in order to be repaid. The process to do so has not yet been announced nor has whether U.S. players will receive their entire account balances or just deposits.

Speaking to Full Tilt Points, Iron Man medals, and loyalty rewards for U.S. players, the same Full Tilt representative posted, “U.S. players should only have cash and points in their accounts at this point (Iron Man medals were already converted to FTPs). As we now know, they will have to go through the remission process to claim the cash. I don’t have an answer for what will happen to the FTPs.”

Stay tuned to PocketFives for the latest. You can discuss this story by leaving a comment here or posting in this PocketFives thread.