Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Kaplan was indicted in June by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District
of Missouri, the US attorney's office said in a press release. The
indictment accuses Kaplan and 10 others of engaging in racketeering,
conspiracy and fraud, arising from the operation of Costa Rica-based
internet gambling businesses, including BetOnSports.com. Following Kaplan's
arrest in the Dominican Republic, the US attorney said he was sent by
Dominican authorities to Puerto Rico to make an initial appearance before a
US Magistrate Judge. The US attorney's office in St. Louis plans to ask the
magistrate judge to order that Kaplan be sent to St. Louis immediately or be
held in custody pending a hearing to remove him to St. Louis, and that he be
held without bond. BetOnSports, which once traded on the London Stock
Exchange, was forced in August 2006 to close down its US business, which
accounted for 95 percent of its profits. The US crackdown on online gaming
began last July with the arrest of BetOnSports chief executive David
Carruthers during a layover at a Texas airport.