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Non appearance for arraignment strongly criticised
Betonsports Plc, the British Internet sports book, should be cited for contempt of court after failing to appear for a scheduled arraignment in St. Louis federal court on January 5, federal prosecutors said this week.
Bloombergs business news reports that the London-based company was indicted last summer for violating U.S. interstate wire gambling laws and racketeering offences. Last week (see previous InfoPowa reports), Jeffrey Demerath, an attorney for the once-publicly traded company, told U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson in St. Louis that his clients had instructed him not to appear to answer the charges.
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Betonsports' decision "suggests that corporate management is neither in a coma nor dead but, instead, contemptuous and defiant,'' prosecutor Michael Fagan said this week in court papers.
The London-based company took in wagers in 2004 totaling $1.25 billion, 98 percent of which were sports bets placed by U.S. gamblers using Betonsports' Web sites and U.S. phone lines, Jackson found in a previous ruling.
Company founder Gary Kaplan and now-former Chief Executive Officer David Carruthers were indicted on gambling and racketeering charges, along with nine other defendants. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of $4.5 billion.
Carruthers and six other defendants appeared in court July 31 to plead not guilty. Kaplan and two other defendants are still at large.
Demerath didn't return a Bloomsberg call seeking comment. In November, he was one of two corporate attorneys who signed a consent agreement with federal prosecutors, paving the way for Jackson to issue an order permanently banning Betonsports from doing business in the U.S.
At that time Fagan and co-counsel Marty Woelfle asked Jackson to impose fines on the company or order that its officers and directors be arrested for their "willful disregard'' of the court's processes and proceedings.
Meanwhile, media reports claim that thousands of angry customers have been calling the prosecution's offices throughout the December holidays demanding to know why they have yet to be paid.
The information portal Gambling911 published a story that revealed that some customers who have been in contact are owed upwards of $35 000. The site also reported that one of the main board directors, Operations Manager Clive Archer, fled Costa Rica and is yet to return, and quotes an unidentified former employee as saying: "He took with him all the server information and customer details."
STOP PRESS:
Betonsports "Not Guilty" Plea entered into record by U.S. judge, with a February 2nd deadline
As we went to press this week Bloombergs business news was reporting that Betonsports Plc., the British Internet bookmaker facing charges in St. Louis, Missouri, had a "not guilty'' plea entered for it by a federal judge five days after the company told its lawyer to skip an arraignment on illegal interstate wire gambling charges.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler in St. Louis federal court entered the plea for Betonsports on Wednesday, according to court records. Her ruling subjects the company to the court's February 2 deadline for filing any pre-trial motions.
"There may be some rulings made along the way and some rights compromised,'' as a result of Medler's order, a Manhattan defense attorney who has worked on Internet gambling cases opined. "The company cannot be tried in absentia.''
The St. Louis U.S. Attorney's office did not respond to voicemail or e-mail messages seeking comment.
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