The Eye on Gambling information website reports that online sports gamblers owed money by the now defunct BetonSports.com may be able to retrieve something from the debacle that left so many gamblers in the lurch.
The portal points to official notices from the US Justice Department inviting disadvantaged players to file a written petition with the federal court in St Louis.
The court has been dealing with BetonSports founder Gary Kaplan, who earlier this week pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges and deposited a forfeited amount of $43.65 million into a Justice Department account .
The forfeited monies are the proceeds obtained by Kaplan during his running of the billion dollar BoS online gambling business in Costa Rica.
Eye on Gambling founder, Kenneth Weitzner says he expects to see a lot of fraudulent allegations of people being owed money by BetonSports.
The official notice from the DOJ reads:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI, EASTERN DIVISION
COURT CASE NUMBER: S5-4:06CR337 CEJ; NOTICE OF FORFEITURE
Notice is hereby given that on August 14, 2009, in the case of U.S. v. Gary Stephen Kaplan, Court Case Number S5-4:06CR337 CEJ, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri entered an Order condemning and forfeiting the following property to the United States of America:
Approximately $43,650,000.00 in U.S. Currency presently held by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, in Bank of America account number XXXXX5233 which was transferred on or about July 31, 2009, from Leecroft Investments Group’s Swiss bank account at Banque Privee Edmond de Rothschild S.A., Account number XXXXX0347 (09-IRS-000847).
The United States hereby gives notice of its intent to dispose of the forfeited property in such manner as the United States Attorney General may direct. Any person, other than the defendant(s) in this case, claiming interest in the forfeited property must file a Petition within 60 days of the first date of publication (August 18, 2009) of this Notice on this official government internet web site, pursuant to Rule 32.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(1). The petition must be filed with the Clerk of the Court, 111 South 10th St., Suite 3.300, St. Louis, MO 63102, and a copy served upon Assistant United States Attorney Charles S. Birmingham, Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse, 111 South Tenth Street, 20th Floor, St. Louis, MO 63102.
The petition shall be signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury and shall set forth the nature and extent of the petitioner’s right, title or interest in the forfeited property, the time and circumstances of the petitioner’s acquisition of the right, title and interest in the forfeited property and any additional facts supporting the petitioner’s claim and the relief sought, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(n).