The Man Behind the scorephone that we have all seen in the USA TODAY
newspaper,now he has an other aka.. Corey Black
(who made the statement back in 1997 that if his play didnt win he
would blow his brains out,well it loss and he is still around)
Paradise Lost
Jack Price "900" Sports Tout says the "price is right" to $11.4
million dollar fine to avoid possible prison sentence.
The Paradise Casino (Hoss Limited Inc.) who closed shop last December
has recently settled with the IRS and have agreed to pay an
extraordinary $11.4 million dollars in back taxes, interest and
penalties. Hoss Limited partners, Marc Meghrouni, of Balboa, CA.,
and Scott D. Shaver, of Garden Grove, CA, pled guilty to charges of
impairing the work of the Internal Revenue Service and violating the
Wire Wager Act. The fine was confirmed by John Edens (a.k.a. ******
DeMarco) that his business associate, Marc Meghrouni (a.k.a. Jack
Price), a "silent partner" of the Paradise, opened up their books to
the IRS and agreed to the fine to avoid possible imprisonment said to
be a possible 5 to 15 years. Some of the fine will consist of
property. U.S. Attorney Audrey Fleissig said Meghrouni and Shaver
will forfeit a beachfront condo in Orange County, CA., valued at more
than $1 million; an office building in Irvine, CA., worth more than
$2 million; and a 1995 Lamborghini Diablo, valued at $250,000. Jack
Price was the subject of a series of "scamdicapper" articles in the
Los Angeles Times in December of 1997 and Sports Illustrated in 1998.
The fine is attributable to the U.S. excise tax. A wagering excise
tax is imposed on wagers and is a percentage of the wager. The tax is
assessed on the individual who accepts wagers. Specifically:
The tax is imposed by IRC 4401 and applies only to wagers which are:
A. Accepted in the United States.
B. Placed by a person who is in the United States.
C. Placed by a person who is a citizen or resident of the United
States.
D. Placed by a person in a wagering pool or lottery conducted by a
person who is a citizen or resident of the United States.
Per the IRS Handbook the enforcement of the excise tax in cases of
this type is a low priority and is intended to be pursued only
against , "independent initiation and development of criminal cases
against major operators and financiers and in other situations
involving widespread noncompliance"
Mr. Edens, while claiming limited involvement ("marketing") with the
Paradise claims that he knows Mr. Meghrouni was not involved with the
direct management of the Paradise. Furthermore, he saw no "conflict
of interest" in selling sports betting advice under "Jack Price"
while accepting sports bets under his "silent partnership" with
Paradise Casino. Mr. Edens stated the owners agreed to the fine to
avoid imprisonment and other possible pending charges, including
alleged RICO violations.
Mr. Edens went on to state that, "They did it with class. Everybody
was paid every single cent they were owed. Every customer, every
vendor" that he saw no problem that an "offshore" operation opened up
their books to the IRS that included specific individual U.S. bettor
information justifying it as, "anytime you play offshore your own
personal information is not a secret"
Per Mr. Edens, the Paradise Casino problems began when Antigua was
struck by back-to-back hurricanes in 1995. The storms caused Western
Union offices to close in Antigua, and allegedly customer Western
Union deposits were cashed in the domestic U.S. However Mr. Edens
did claim that "every bet taken by the "PC" was taken in either
Antigua or Curacao."
The fallout of the recent activities remain to be seen. Most U.S.
bettors playing with offshore casino/sportbooks were of the belief
that no personal information would be provided to any agency of the
U.S. government. Furthermore the already suspect integrity
of "sports touts" is under further scrutiny with the boom and profits
of offshore/internet wagering.
newspaper,now he has an other aka.. Corey Black
(who made the statement back in 1997 that if his play didnt win he
would blow his brains out,well it loss and he is still around)
Paradise Lost
Jack Price "900" Sports Tout says the "price is right" to $11.4
million dollar fine to avoid possible prison sentence.
The Paradise Casino (Hoss Limited Inc.) who closed shop last December
has recently settled with the IRS and have agreed to pay an
extraordinary $11.4 million dollars in back taxes, interest and
penalties. Hoss Limited partners, Marc Meghrouni, of Balboa, CA.,
and Scott D. Shaver, of Garden Grove, CA, pled guilty to charges of
impairing the work of the Internal Revenue Service and violating the
Wire Wager Act. The fine was confirmed by John Edens (a.k.a. ******
DeMarco) that his business associate, Marc Meghrouni (a.k.a. Jack
Price), a "silent partner" of the Paradise, opened up their books to
the IRS and agreed to the fine to avoid possible imprisonment said to
be a possible 5 to 15 years. Some of the fine will consist of
property. U.S. Attorney Audrey Fleissig said Meghrouni and Shaver
will forfeit a beachfront condo in Orange County, CA., valued at more
than $1 million; an office building in Irvine, CA., worth more than
$2 million; and a 1995 Lamborghini Diablo, valued at $250,000. Jack
Price was the subject of a series of "scamdicapper" articles in the
Los Angeles Times in December of 1997 and Sports Illustrated in 1998.
The fine is attributable to the U.S. excise tax. A wagering excise
tax is imposed on wagers and is a percentage of the wager. The tax is
assessed on the individual who accepts wagers. Specifically:
The tax is imposed by IRC 4401 and applies only to wagers which are:
A. Accepted in the United States.
B. Placed by a person who is in the United States.
C. Placed by a person who is a citizen or resident of the United
States.
D. Placed by a person in a wagering pool or lottery conducted by a
person who is a citizen or resident of the United States.
Per the IRS Handbook the enforcement of the excise tax in cases of
this type is a low priority and is intended to be pursued only
against , "independent initiation and development of criminal cases
against major operators and financiers and in other situations
involving widespread noncompliance"
Mr. Edens, while claiming limited involvement ("marketing") with the
Paradise claims that he knows Mr. Meghrouni was not involved with the
direct management of the Paradise. Furthermore, he saw no "conflict
of interest" in selling sports betting advice under "Jack Price"
while accepting sports bets under his "silent partnership" with
Paradise Casino. Mr. Edens stated the owners agreed to the fine to
avoid imprisonment and other possible pending charges, including
alleged RICO violations.
Mr. Edens went on to state that, "They did it with class. Everybody
was paid every single cent they were owed. Every customer, every
vendor" that he saw no problem that an "offshore" operation opened up
their books to the IRS that included specific individual U.S. bettor
information justifying it as, "anytime you play offshore your own
personal information is not a secret"
Per Mr. Edens, the Paradise Casino problems began when Antigua was
struck by back-to-back hurricanes in 1995. The storms caused Western
Union offices to close in Antigua, and allegedly customer Western
Union deposits were cashed in the domestic U.S. However Mr. Edens
did claim that "every bet taken by the "PC" was taken in either
Antigua or Curacao."
The fallout of the recent activities remain to be seen. Most U.S.
bettors playing with offshore casino/sportbooks were of the belief
that no personal information would be provided to any agency of the
U.S. government. Furthermore the already suspect integrity
of "sports touts" is under further scrutiny with the boom and profits
of offshore/internet wagering.