Betonsports Executive David Carruthers Withdraws Guilty Plea | IXGAMES

The chief of Betonsports, David Carruthers, has been detained for three years under house arrest. After three years of being under house arrest, British online gambling executive David Carruthers has changed his guilty plea, a few days before he was to be sentenced by a court in the US on racketeering charges. Carruthers was charged for breaches made on Internet gaming restrictions in the US. Carruthers worked as the chief executive of Betonsports, a betting company, until his arrest in 2006. His arrest took place in Dallas airport after coming in from Bahrain. Carruthers was supposed to land in Costa Rica, where the operational base of the company was located. The case attracted global attention as this businessman from Scotland faced charges on breaking US laws, after having accepted illegal sports bets from Americans over the web. Carruthers awaited trial while being confined in a hotel in Missouri, under the surveillance of electronic cameras, beginning the summer of 2006. It was in April that Carruthers agreed to plead guilty for the charges, in exchange for 33 months imprisonment as recommended penalty from the prosecutors. This deal apparently was unexpectedly cut short however, a few days before the final hearing was set to take place on Friday, during which a judge was about to declare his sentence. After a short legal filing, the court has granted the “motion to set aside David Carruthers’ guilty plea.” The hearing for the “change of plea” is scheduled meanwhile for October 14. Reasons uncertain The motives and reasons for Carruther’s withdrawal of his guilty plea remain uncertain. When asked for comments, Carruthers failed to give any, while his lawyer Scott Rosenblum also kept mum. No official statement has been released from Carruthers’ camp. According to a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in St Louis, Missouri, the prosecutors are not willing to talk about the case. The company’s founder, Gary Kaplan, along with other Betonsports executives, is still pleading guilty. This recent development is expected to surprise the supporters of Carruthers, who have been hoping on his return home on Friday. It was anticipated for Carruthers’ lawyers to argue that their 52 year old client has successfully served his 33-month sentence while being confined in a hotel under a bail of $1 million beginning August 2006. Opponents of the present online gambling restrictions in the U.S. have made the case of Carruthers as a sort of rallying point. According to Barney Frank, a Democratic congressman in the US, Carruthers’ airport arrest was one of the most Stalinist actions ever done by his government. The World Trade Organization has already criticized the prohibitions on online betting in America two years ago, ruling out that the restrictions actually violate international fair trade agreements.