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The former CEO of the now-defunct billion-dollar international online gambling powerhouse BetOnSports pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in St. Louis to racketeering conspiracy and admitted helping to run an illegal betting operation.
David Carruthers, 51, told U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson that he was recruited in 2000 by BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan and initially did not believe online gambling to be illegal.
But he said that eventually he realized that it was illegal, and that BetOnSports continued to advertise to U.S. customers that the company was "legal and licensed" while "furtively or covertly" collecting bets and paying out money owed to gamblers.
In exchange for the guilty plea, and Carruthers' agreement to cooperate with the others still facing charges, federal prosecutors will drop seven other charges and agree to recommend no more than 33 months in prison.
Carruthers could have faced almost 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
BetOnSports, Carruthers, Kaplan and their associates were indicted in federal court in St. Louis in 2006 on federal racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud and gambling charges. Carruthers was arrested in July of 2006 and placed on house arrest a month later after posting a $1 million bond. He will remain free while awaiting the trial of the others and his eventual sentencing.
Kaplan has been in jail since his arrest in March 2007. The company pleaded guilty in May 2007 and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, by Robert Patrick, 04/01/2009
David Carruthers, 51, told U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson that he was recruited in 2000 by BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan and initially did not believe online gambling to be illegal.
But he said that eventually he realized that it was illegal, and that BetOnSports continued to advertise to U.S. customers that the company was "legal and licensed" while "furtively or covertly" collecting bets and paying out money owed to gamblers.
In exchange for the guilty plea, and Carruthers' agreement to cooperate with the others still facing charges, federal prosecutors will drop seven other charges and agree to recommend no more than 33 months in prison.
Carruthers could have faced almost 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
BetOnSports, Carruthers, Kaplan and their associates were indicted in federal court in St. Louis in 2006 on federal racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud and gambling charges. Carruthers was arrested in July of 2006 and placed on house arrest a month later after posting a $1 million bond. He will remain free while awaiting the trial of the others and his eventual sentencing.
Kaplan has been in jail since his arrest in March 2007. The company pleaded guilty in May 2007 and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, by Robert Patrick, 04/01/2009
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