Former BetOnSports CEO Sentenced To 33 months In Prison

David Carruthers (52), has been handed down a 33 month prison sentence by US District Court Judge Carol E. Jackson on Friday, after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
The former CEO of internet gaming company BetonSports must have been hoping to receive a more lenient sentence, having earlier struck a plea bargain deal with authorities, and agreeing to cooperate with the government’s investigation into the site. He also agreed to forfeit a massive $43 million to the US government, and has already spent 32 days in jail and the last three and a half years under house arrest.
At its peak, BetonSports grossed over $1 billion a year, 98% of the custom coming from US gamblers. Carruthers originally claimed he was unsure he was contravening the US ‘Wire Act,’ which makes sports betting illegal in the States, and only discovered the fact later. He said:
“I understand now that the business was operating outside the laws of the United States.I realise I made the biggest mistake of my life. I am sorry for the actions of BetOnSports and the trouble it caused.”
Judge Carol E. Jackson seemed unimpressed by his apparent ignorance of US law, and so handed him down the close to 3 year prison sentence, in a federal court in Missouri.
Following the judge’s decision, the US Justice Department seemed satisfied and said the sentencing “concludes a lengthy investigative and prosecution effort by several law enforcement agencies.”
Since the introduction of the UIGEA in 2006, the US Justice Department has been tirelessly pursuing online gambling operators, and works closely with many other departments, to enforce the law. Special agent Toni Weirauch, from Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation commented recently:
“Illegal internet gaming operations continue to be areas of concern for IRS. With our law enforcement partners, IRS will continue to play an enforcement role in the illegal gaming industry and other illegal offshore activity.”