Founder of BetonSports ArrestedU.S. Department of JusticeSt. Louis, MO March 30, 2007 Catherine L. Hanaway “Mr. Kaplan was arrested at a hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, without incident by the Dominican National Police, the U.S. State Department and the FBI. Interpol Washington and Interpol Buenos Aires have worked tirelessly in cooperation with the International Police in providing information that was crucial in the apprehension and deportation of Kaplan. The U.S. State Department, specifically in Costa Rica, has provided and will continue to provide, vital assistance in relation to all aspects of this investigation including the apprehension and deportation of fugitives such as Gary Kaplan,” said Roland Corvington, Special Agent in Charge, FBI St. Louis Office. “Diplomatic Security's regional security offices in the Caribbean area maintain excellent working relationships with local law enforcement personnel in the Dominican Republic and throughout the region thus enabling the capture,” said Greg B. Starr, Director of the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. “It's this type of close, worldwide law enforcement liaison that gives Diplomatic Security unparalleled ability to locate, pursue and apprehend fugitives.” “This case helps to establish the effectiveness of the Interpol System of executing international arrest warrants. Officials at Interpol as well as officials with the Dominican Republic are to be commended for their cooperation with U.S. authorities,” added Hanaway. “This was a worldwide search, and thanks to the assistance of many law enforcement agencies this fugitive will soon be back in St. Louis to face the charges against him.” The arrest stems from a federal grand jury indictment returned in the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis) on June 1, 2006. The indictment names Kaplan and 10 other individuals and four corporations. In 22-counts, the indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in racketeering, conspiracy and fraud arising out of the operation of Costa Rica-based internet gambling businesses,including BetonSports.com. Kaplan, age 48, is personally charged with 20 felony violations of federal laws including: the Wire Act, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy, interstate transportation of gambling paraphernalia, interference with the administration of Internal Revenue laws and tax evasion. After Kaplan’s arrest in the Dominican Republic, he was sent by Dominican authorities to Puerto Rico for an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge will be asked to order that Kaplan be sent to St. Louis immediately or beheld in custody pending a removal hearing to remove him to St. Louis, Missouri, and for a detention hearing to hold him without bond. (At a removal hearing, the Government must prove that the person in custody and the person named in the indictment are the same. At a detention hearing, the Government must prove that the defendant is a flight risk or a danger to the community.) At this time, the exact date of Mr. Kaplan’s return to St. Louis is unknown. The prosecution is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and is a joint investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. BettonSports PLC, a British publicly-traded holding company that owns a number of Internet Sportsbooks and casinos, was among the companies charged in the indictment. It is under a federal injunction to halt its illegal gambling business activities in the U.S. and to return its U.S. based depositor funds. The indictment alleges that Gary Kaplan and Norman Steinberg, as the owners and operators of BetonSports affiliated websites and sportsbooks, took, or caused their employees to take, bets from undercover federal agents in St. Louis, who used undercover identities to open wagering accounts. The indictment also alleges that Kaplan and a Florida business, Mobile Promotions, illegally transported equipment used to place bets and transmit wagering information across state lines and that a related Florida business, DME Global Marketing and Fulfillment, shipped equipment to Costa Rica from Florida, for BetonSports.com. The racketeering conspiracy charge alleges that the defendants agreed to conduct an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering acts, including repeated mail fraud, wire fraud, operation of an illegal gambling business and money laundering. Co-owner Norman Steinberg is still at large, as is co-defendant Peter Wilson. Other defendants, including former BetonSports PLC director, David Carruthers, were arrested in 2006, after the apprehension of Carruthers in Texas, on July 17, 2006. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Carol E. Jackson and no trial date has been set, as pretrial motion proceeds continue. The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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