Three men from Montgomery Country, Maryland, were indicted yesterday on charges that they operated and ran an illegal sports gambling ring. Part of the accusations against the men included collecting bets and making payments for the purposes of promoting sports gambling. Many of the sports gambling transactions were suspected of taking place at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards and other places.
It is suspected that the sports gambling ring operated for over 3 years, from 2001-2004 in which the operators managed to get bettors to wager on professional and college football, basketball and baseball games. The sports gambling ring was advertised through word of mouth, pamphlets and flyers. The operators also set up 2 toll free numbers where players could call and place their bets. For all intents and purposes, the ring operated like a very organized sports gambling set up.
The company which was set up by the three suspects called Sports International 2000, was based in the Caribbean island of Dominica and was used for the sole purpose of facilitating sports gambling. Gamblers were provided with a code and a login which enabled them to place their bets. On Thursdays and Fridays money would be collected and payments would be made, prosecutors said. The three men - a father, son and brother-in-law team, were charged with conducting illegal sports gambling business and conspiracy. Two were also charged with several counts of money laundering. |
