July 10,2012 : MISSOURI GRAND JURY PROBE GARNERS GUILTY PLEA (Update)
Business flourished following use of websites whose servers were based in Costa-Rica
Two defendants in a Missouri Grand Jury investigation into internet sports betting have pleaded guilty to the charges contained in a February 2012 federal indictment.
The case initiated and investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Joplin-Missouri Police Department is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall D Eggert.
Joplin residents William Lisle (57) and Kenneth B Lovett (72) admitted before United States District Judge Richard E Dorr to the charges of utilising the internet to transmit wagering information between January 1, 2003 and February 8, 2011, during the course of running their gambling business.
The two defendants shared income and expenses from two internet websites between 2006 and 2010, after Lisle joined Lovett's business in 2006. The websites' servers were located in Costa Rica.
According to the duo's plea agreement, the operation grew in customers and wager amounts following the use of the two offshore sites in 2006. The document detailed fifteen instances of money laundering on the part of Lisle who sent cashier's cheques worth a total value of $72 000 via Federal Express to the Costa Rican website operator. The cheques were payable to a false name.
Lisle, who additionally pleaded guilty to money laundering, is required to forfeit the $98 263 seized by law enforcement during a raid on his residence to the United States Government.