By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The former CEO of the multi-billion dollar online gambling company BetonSports.com pleaded guilty to federal charges in St. Louis on Wednesday.
The case is the largest prosecution of online gambling in U.S. history.
David Carruthers pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering and conspiracy and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Online sports gambling is illegal in the United States and BetonSports is based primarily in Costa Rica.
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway says organizations such as BetonSports have tried to circumvent that law by basing their companies offshore.
"And what people should take away from, what the gambling companies should take away from this is that we are going to be persistent and aggressive in enforcing the laws of the United States," says Hanaway.
Hanaway says that BetonSports defrauded American customers by marketing the service at sporting events and claiming that it was legal.
In exchange for his plea Carruthers has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's office in the prosecution of other company executives.
The trial of BetonSports founder Gary Kaplan, who pleaded "not guilty", is scheduled for September.