BetonSports.com Founder Arrested

Gary Kaplan, founder of online gambling site, BetonSports.com, was arrested in a hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic late last Wednesday, March 28. Kaplan will be returned to St. Louis to face charges, but his exact return date is unknown.

Kaplan, ten other individuals, and four corporations were indicted June 1, 2006 on 22 counts of racketeering, conspiracy, and fraud stemming from the operation of BetonSports.com. Charges specific to Kaplan include violations of the Wire Act, RICO conspiracy, tax evasion, interference with IRS laws, and transportation of gambling paraphernalia.

According to a release issued by United States Attorney, Catherine Hanaway:

“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.”

Steinberg is married to a Costa Rican woman, and now that he is a citizen of Costa Rica, he will probably not be arrested. Costa Rica law does not permit nationalized citizens to be extradited, in most cases.

BetonSports CEO David Carruthers was arrested in Texas in July 2006. 

Originally published 1:02 PM Tuesday, April 03, 2007