According to lawyers on both sides of the case, negotiations for a settlement of the criminal and civil charges filed against BetOnSports are currently underway. Apparently, both the U.S Federal prosecutors from St. Louis and Washington and the legal team of BetOnSports believe a settlement is the best way to proceed. Jeffery Demerath, a lawyer for the billion-dollar, London-listed Internet gambling company, told U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson: “What we are interested in doing is resolving this matter”. Demerath also informed Jackson that the goal of BetOnSports was to resolve both the civil and the criminal charges. In a concurring statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Fagan told Jackson “I think we can resolve matters”. Neither of the lawyers was available for comment after the hearing. The Tuesday court appearance of the BetOnSports lawyer marked the first time a lawyer for the company had appeared in federal court in St. Louis. Initially, it had been difficult for Federal Prosecutors to serve the company with the legal paperwork. They were, however, able to supply the one-time CEO of BetOnSports, David Carruthers with details of the charges after he was arrested in a Texas airport, but the company abruptly fired him while he was still in jail. "This is good news," Jackson said, referring to what seemed to be a notice that Demerath had entered the case on behalf of the company. According to U.S. prosecutors, BetOnSports knowingly violated the law when it allowed U.S. customers to gamble and place bets over the phone and online. The violations lead to indictments of BetOnSports employees, associated companies, and individuals for mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering charges. The charges surfaced on July 16th when former CEO David Carruthers was arrested in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport awaiting his flight home to Costa Rica. Carruthers has since been freed on a $1 million bond and is under home detention in a St. Louis hotel. Prosecutors have also succeeded in getting a temporary restraining order, which bars the company from accepting bets from U.S. residents. The order is also attempting to force the company to hand over $4.5 billion and other property and provide relevant business records. According to court documents and the company’s annual report, about $4.6 billion worth of bets were placed with the company during the years 2001 to 2005 and most of the 9.9 million bets placed in the year 2005 came from U.S. residents. On August 11, BetOnSports made the announcement that it would no longer be accepting bets from U.S. bettors and that it would refund customers their money once it became available. Possible remaining points of contention include refunds, a fine, and the handover of company documents. Posted on: September 29, 2006
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