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Offshore bookmakers plead guilty to charges

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Two California men and their Nevada corporation have pleaded guilty to charges related to a multimillion dollar offshore sports

bookmaking operation. As part of a plea agreement at U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Marc Meghrouni a.k.a. Jack Price, Scott D. Shaver and Hoss Limited Inc. agreed to forfeit a condominium, office building and rare automobile and pay millions of dollars in back taxes, interest and penalties, U.S. Attorney Audrey G. Fleissig said. The men were directors and chief officers of Hoss Limited, which did business as Paradise Casino.

Formal sentencing will be June 9. Both men could face up to five years in jail and fines up to $500,000 each. The corporation could face fines of up to $3.5 million, prosecutors said Thursday. Meghrouni, 39, and Shaver, 40, pleaded guilty Wednesday to impairing the Internal Revenue Service and violating the federal Wire Wager Act. Prosecutors said Thursday that the men used the Internet and toll-free phone numbers to transmit wagers and information which assisted in the placing of wagers on sporting events. The corporation pleaded guilty to money laundering.

The case was heard in St. Louis because money was laundered through a St. Louis bank, and because money transfers flowed through a Western Union office here. Authorities said that for three years the Paradise Casino conducted sports bookmaking activities, operating at first from the island of Antigua, and later moving to other locations, including Atlanta and, The Netherlands. The corporation agreed to pay $11.4 million in back taxes, interest and penalties.