Betonthesports' Kaplan Sentenced
3rd November, 2009
Founder of Betonthesports, Gary Kaplan, has been jailed for 4 yrs and has been ordered to repay £26million in illegal earnings according to reports from eGaming Review.
Kaplan admitted conspiring to violate federal racketeering and additional US laws at the US district crown court in St. Louis back in August.
He admitted that during the 1990’s he set up offshore business entities in Aruba, Antigua and Costa Rica to provide betting through websites and toll free numbers to US residents.
Kaplan’s guilty plea was expected as he was left as the only executive facing trial after his brother and sister both pleaded guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and illegal transmission. Former colleague Penelope Tucker also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting wire wager act violations.
Kaplan’s lawyers asked for leniency due to thei8r client wanting to set up charitable projects. However US district judge, Carol Jackson said that Kaplan had ‘continued to disrespect’ the law and would break any laws he didn’t agree with.
The judge continued, "Mr Kaplan made an educated decision, a gamble if you will. Now, here's the payoff."
The business was founded in 1995 and when it was floating on London’s Alternative Index market had nearly one million registered customers. Operations ceased in 2006 after the arrest of CEO David Carruthers.
Kaplan has been in custody since March 2007 after his arrest in the Dominican Republic. In addition to his sentence he will be unable to launch or run a business without prior permission from his probation office.
By Faye
