Former online gambling executive freed on $1 million bond
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD
AP Business Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) -The former chief executive of online gambling company BetOnSports was freed on $1 million bond Wednesday after spending nearly a month behind bars following his arrest on racketeering and fraud charges.
David Carruthers, 48, was released after a hearing before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Medler. He had been expected to be freed as early as Monday but it took days to work out technical details. Among those details: A dedicated phone line had to be installed at the residence where he will stay.
Carruthers must remain in the St. Louis area until his trial. According to the terms of his bond, Carruthers will live at a hotel in the suburb Clayton. He will not be allowed to leave the hotel except for court appearances, meetings with his attorney or medical emergencies.
During the hearing, Carruthers asked the judge if the home-incarceration was 24 hours a day. She said it was.
The charges against Carruthers are part of a 22-count indictment against London-based BetOnSports PLC being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway in St. Louis. Carruthers was chief executive of the company until shortly after his arrest, when he was fired.
The case is one of the largest U.S. prosecutions of an online gambling company and has caused BetOnSports to close all of its U.S.-focused operations.
Federal prosecutors insisted that none of Carruthers' bond money come from the treasury of BetOnSports, according to his attorney, Scott Rosenblum. He wouldn't say how Carruthers came up with the full payment, but said all the money was raised through legal means.
Hanaway said she will continue to prosecute the case against BetOnSports regardless of the company's decision to close its offices and stop accepting U.S.-based bets. She said the move does not absolve the company from taking illegal bets in the past
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD
AP Business Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) -The former chief executive of online gambling company BetOnSports was freed on $1 million bond Wednesday after spending nearly a month behind bars following his arrest on racketeering and fraud charges.
David Carruthers, 48, was released after a hearing before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Medler. He had been expected to be freed as early as Monday but it took days to work out technical details. Among those details: A dedicated phone line had to be installed at the residence where he will stay.
Carruthers must remain in the St. Louis area until his trial. According to the terms of his bond, Carruthers will live at a hotel in the suburb Clayton. He will not be allowed to leave the hotel except for court appearances, meetings with his attorney or medical emergencies.
During the hearing, Carruthers asked the judge if the home-incarceration was 24 hours a day. She said it was.
The charges against Carruthers are part of a 22-count indictment against London-based BetOnSports PLC being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway in St. Louis. Carruthers was chief executive of the company until shortly after his arrest, when he was fired.
The case is one of the largest U.S. prosecutions of an online gambling company and has caused BetOnSports to close all of its U.S.-focused operations.
Federal prosecutors insisted that none of Carruthers' bond money come from the treasury of BetOnSports, according to his attorney, Scott Rosenblum. He wouldn't say how Carruthers came up with the full payment, but said all the money was raised through legal means.
Hanaway said she will continue to prosecute the case against BetOnSports regardless of the company's decision to close its offices and stop accepting U.S.-based bets. She said the move does not absolve the company from taking illegal bets in the past
