| BetonSports and others indicted in new round of DOJ busts |
(London, UK) Things are going from bad to worse for BetonSports as the American Department of Justice wielded their powers against them and a number of other online gambling companies. Seven individuals and three companies were indicted in Utah yesterday afternoon for breaking US law related to online gambling.Other companies including BetUS.com, have been accused of processing payments for illegal gambling. Ever since October last year when George W. Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act (UIGEA), online gambling companies have been frantically trying to process payments from angry US players. The indictment claims that banks issuing Visa or MasterCard credit cards were hoodwinked into processing online gambling charges. It is also believed that the defendants made Western Union wire transfers through the Philippines.
The 34 count indictment includes charges of bank fraud, racketeering, transmission of illegal services and money laundering. The seven defendants are accused of creating three companies to process credit card and wire transfers for their customers, mainly online gambling sites outside the US.
The first company, CurrenC and CurrenC Worldwide processed most of the credit card transactions and wire transfers. They have offices in a number of countries including Jamaica, South Korea and the UK. However two companies based in Utah, Hill Financial Services and Gateway Technologies are also accused of providing technical and accounting services for online gambling companies.
BetUS.com, BetonSports and four other unnamed gambling sites will now have to wait their fate and could potentially be forced to cease trading while the investigation continues. The indictment seeks to recover more than $150 million from the defendants as well as real estate and other valuable assets.
< Back to news index