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Lawyers for BetonSports fail to show up for hearing
Lawyers representing
online gambling firm BetonSports were a "no show"
Monday for a hearing that stemmed from an indictment
handed down exactly two weeks ago.
Federal prosecutors
said BetonSports had been served with the
appropriate paperwork, including papers given to
former BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers upon his
arrest in Texas.
The St. Louis
Post-Dispatch reported early Monday that lawyers for
BetonSports might not show up for the hearing and in
fact they failed to do so.
An industry insider
who said his job was at risk if he publicly
identified himself said that executives at
BetOnSports have discussed ignoring federal
prosecutors' biggest effort in years to shut down
offshore gambling and sports betting, according to
the Post-Dispatch.
The U.S. Attorney’s
office is researching what sanctions will be
requested against the company.
U.S. Attorney
Catherine Hanaway was not surprised by BetonSports
failure to show.
"They have not had any
regard for the law. And to not appear would be
a further step along that same path."
BetonSports PLC
current Board of Directors could be further charged
since the indictment lodged against the company
extended to April of this year. The company's
Board of Directors have claimed they were not active
during the time of cited complaints. All were
actively involved with the company at some point
during the investigation however.
Also missing early
in the day - but
not by choice - was fired CEO David Carruthers.
Authorities were having a difficult time
transferring Mr. Carruthers from his penal
institution in Fort Worth Texas to the Federal
Courthouse in St. Louis.
Carruthers pleaded
"Not Guilty" later Monday upon his late arrival in
St. Louis. His lawyers were negotiating a
release that would likely restrict his travels.
For the time being, Carruthers would remain in
federal custody.
All of the other
criminal defendants pleaded not guilty either in
person or through lawyers, including one other
company, DME Global Marketing & Fulfillment Inc.
A lawyer for DME said
lawyers or representatives of two other companies
that had been charged, Direct Mail Expertise Inc.
and Mobil Promotions Inc., were unlikely to show up
because the companies had gone out of business.
"Then we’ll just have to take you into custody,"
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler joked.
Direct Mail Expertise
Inc. and Mobil Promotions Inc. were owned by the
same individuals who operated DME, all of whom plead
not guilty today.
The companies and
employees have been charged in federal court in St.
Louis with a 22-count indictment that alleges that
BetOnSports allowed U.S. gamblers to bet and gamble
billions of dollars even though the company knew it
was illegal.
DME Global and the other companies are accused of
providing advertising and promotional services and
helping sign up customers.
Entering not guilty
pleas before Judge Medler were BetonSports founder
Gary Kaplan's brother and sister, Neil Kaplan and Lori
Kaplan-Multz. Also entering not guilty pleas
were Tim Brown, William H. Lenis, William
L. Lenis, Manny Lenis and Monica Lenis. All have
been free on bond.
Neither of the
Kaplan siblings nor Tim Brown have previous arrest
records. Some of those named in the
indictments have not yet turned themselves in.
Gary Kaplan is unlikely to, having decided a number
of years ago not to travel to the United States
again.
The BetonSports
indictments occurred just over a month after other
indictments were handed down against two principals
of an offshore phone wagering operation, World Wide
Tele Sports. That company was later merged
into BetCorp, which like BetonSports, trades on the
London Stock Exchange.
Jessica Davis
Hewitt and Bill Scott were charged in May with
racketeering. Hewitt resigned from BetCorp on
"good terms" immediately following the indictment
that was handed down while she had been attending a
Global Gaming Conference in Montreal on behalf of
BetCorp. Davis Hewitt had served over 11 years
with the company.
For BetCorp, it's
business as usual though the company made a decision
to no longer accept phone wagers from the US
immediately following David Carruthers capture in
the US.
Like with
BetonSports, none of the current BetCorp Board of
Directors have been charged with any crimes, which
has led many industry observers to speculate what
other motives BetonSports might have for shutting
down their operation.
"The situation is
nearly identical," said one industry observer.
"The only difference is BetCorp did the right thing
and continued to operate. The only company
named in the indictment related to BetonSports was
BetonSports itself. That company could have
continued to operate its other branding concepts
under the management of its current Board of
Directors, none of whom were charged. They
could have transferred all accounts to those other
gambling operations if the concern relates to
charges directed specifically at BetonSports."
Though the
investigation referenced a period leading right up
to April of this year, the BetonSports case was
begun in January of 2002.
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----
Christopher Costigan,
www.gambling911.com
Originally
published July 31, 2006 6:38 pm EDT |
