Published: Friday, May 26, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
WW TELESPORTS DUO INDICTED
"This indictment underscores the Justice Department's commitment to attacking illegal Internet gambling concerns by using federal anti-money laundering laws."
Further developments took place this week following the recent announcement that charges are to be preferred against two operators of an Antigua-based Internet gambling site accused of money laundering some $250 million in wagers.
Federal officials unsealed the indictment, filed in April 2005 against 65-year-old William Scott, who renounced his US citizenship and had been living in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda; and Jessica Davis Dyett, a 35-year-old US citizen alleged to have authority over various bank accounts of the operation.
The accuseds are alleged to be operators of WorldWide Telesports, Inc. and the indictment charges two companies and two individuals with violation of US money-laundering laws, the Justice Department said in a statement.
"This indictment underscores the Justice Department's commitment to attacking illegal Internet gambling concerns by using federal anti-money laundering laws," a Justice spokesman said.
Both Scott and Dyett are fugitives, according to the Justice Department, which noted that they were indicted on similar charges in 1998. US officials were able to freeze some $7 million in profits held on the island of Guernsey, a semi-autonomous British territory in the English Channel known for its offshore banking.
The indictment also names WWTS, a wagering site, and Soulbury Ltd., alleged to be a "shell" company in the British Virgin Islands.
The indictment alleges "that by causing funds to be sent from places within the United States to places abroad with the intent to promote Wire and Travel Act violations, Scott and Davis engaged in a money laundering conspiracy", a Justice Department statement said.
Scott was also charged with failure to report foreign bank accounts to the Internal Revenue Service.