Fifty-Seven Charged with Operating Illegal Online Sports Gaming Business

WASHINGTONThirty-four individuals and 23 entities have been indicted and accused of operating an illegal sports bookmaking business that solicited more than $1 billion in illegal bets. According to the indictment, Bartice Alan King, aka Luke and Cool, 42, of Spring, Texas, conspired with others to operate Internet and telephone gambling services first from San Jose, Costa Rica and then from Panama City, which took wagers almost exclusively from gamblers in the United States seeking to place bets on sports. Known since 2003 as Legendz Sports, the enterprise allegedly used bookies located in the United States to illegally solicit and accept sports wagers as well as settle gambling debts. The 34 defendants are alleged to have been employees, members, and associates of the ongoing Legendz Sports enterprise. The 23 corporate defendants are alleged to have been used by Legendz Sports to facilitate gambling operations, operate as payment processors, own websites and domain names used in the enterprise, launder gambling funds, and make payouts to gamblers. The indictment alleges that Legendz Sports sought to maximize the number of gamblers who opened wagering accounts by offering both post-up betting, which requires a bettor to first set up and fund an account before placing bets and credit betting, which allow the bettor to place a wager without depositing money in advance through face-to-face meetings with bookies or agents. The indictment alleges that Legendz Sports solicited millions of illegal bets totaling more than $1 billion. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for racketeering, up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering, up to 10 years in prison for money laundering, and up to five years in prison for operating an illegal gambling business. In addition, the indictment seeks a forfeiture money judgment of at least $1 billion traceable to numerous specific assets that include real estate, bank accounts, brokerage and investment accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, domain names, a Sabreliner aircraft, a gas lease, and vehicles. The public is reminded that the indictment is merely an accusation and that the defendants are each presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service.