KAPLAN IN THE NEWS AGAIN

12 September 2008

Feds issue a second superceding indictment

The close of the week saw the US Department of Justice again putting the moribund BetonSports.com, its founder Gary Kaplan (49) and others under the spotlight after last week's attempt by his legal team to have him released on Speedy Trial grounds (see previous InfoPowa report)

This time the federal authorities issued a superceding indictment - their second in this long running investigation since mid-2006, when Kaplan was named in an indictment that included 22 felony charges involving racketeering, RICO, Wire Act, tax evasion, interstate transportation of gambling paraphernalia and interference with the administration of Internal Revenue laws.

The indictment formed part of a complex DoJ Internet gambling investigation and enforcement action that commenced with the arrest in transit of BetonSports CEO David Carruthers, who remains under house arrest in St. Louis. Carruthers, and others indicted in the case including Kaplan relations, are included in the new superceding indictment.

Observers are speculating that the new indictment may be a consequence of plea cooperation by William Hernan Lenis, his son, Will Lenis, and nephew Manny Lenis, who entered guilty pleas in St. Louis in August this year (see previous InfoPowa report) claiming they were minor [promotional] parties embroiled in the bigger online gambling picture of BetonSports activities in the USA. The acceptance by the authorities of such a plea would probably carry with it an obligation to cooperate in the further investigation of the main case.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa