BALTIMORE, Md. — The sports gambling site Bodog was shut down and four Canadians indicted, including founder Calvin Ayre, for illegal gambling that generated more than $100 million in winnings, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The website's domain name was seized Monday and the indictments, which were returned Feb. 22, were unveiled Tuesday in Baltimore, prosecutors said.
The indictments follow federal prosecutions last year of three of the biggest websites involved in online poker. More than 75 company bank accounts in 14 countries have been frozen, and authorities are seeking $3 billion in fines and restitution, in that investigation.
In addition to the 50-year-old Ayre, prosecutors say the indictment names website operators James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney.
Gamblers in Maryland and elsewhere were sent a least $100 million by wire and check from 2005 to 2012, the U.S. Attorney's office said, adding Bodog conducted a $42 million advertising campaign between 2005 and 2008 to attract gamblers to the Bodog.com website.
The operation allegedly moved funds from Bodog's accounts located in Switzerland, England, Malta, Canada and elsewhere to pay winnings to gamblers. The four Canadians face up to five years in prison for conducting an illegal gambling business and 20 years for money laundering. Bodog.com faces a fine of up to $500,000 for gambling and money laundering. Initial appearances for the individuals have not been scheduled.
Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Baltimore, said the four are not in custody. Spokeswoman Vickie LeDuc said later Tuesday that arrest warrants had been issued for the four.
An affidavit filed along with the warrant to seize the site said investigators created accounts with Maryland addresses and received checks in the mail for winnings. The affidavit also said investigators interviewed a former Bodog employee who named top officers and directors and said the company had hundreds of employees in Canada and Costa Rica handling day-to-day operations.
"Sports betting is illegal in Maryland, and federal law prohibits bookmakers from flouting that law simply because they are located outside the country," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "Many of the harms that underlie gambling prohibitions are exacerbated when the enterprises operate over the internet without regulation."
Prosecutors say the investigation was led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore and also involved the Internal Revenue Service, Anne Arundel County Police and Maryland State Police. HSI agents seized the domain name on Monday.
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Thanks to four4me for the tip.
I thought the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to be looking for dangerous people? Do they have their priorities str8? Never heard of many threatening canadians or costa ricans...
Oh yeah they do have their priorities str8, a desire to repossess the wealth and assets of others...3 billion dollars worth.
I have to say I hope these guys all get away scot free. They weren't FORCING these gamblers to spend their money or gamble online.
So if they hadn't dealt with gamblers in Maryland 'and elsewhere', could the Feds have even arrested them?
I think the Feds should go after real criminals...
So if I understand it properly, the owners of this gambling site ran a business, advertised like any other business, paid it's winnings to its winners. Seems like someone I would want to do business with. Those would be the things I would look for in dealing with a company of some type.
Last I looked, I didn't have any off or unpleasant dealings with people who were stealing, acting out of control or any other undesirable behaviour from anyone who was a customer of this gambling site.
If people choose to spend their money there, who is the Government to tell them no... How is it that government can dictate to how one spends his/her money if that person is NOT infringing on any rights of any others.
It's not like these people are out killing, robbing or raping anyone. They are NOT even committing any real crimes! So what's the deal?
As far as I can see, Government regulations barely help anything (except they help tremendously those who ARE politically connected). So how is it that the Government regulating them would help us again? I don't feel threatened or endangered whatsoever by this gambling company or it's customers, so what exactly is the issue again?
Oh that's right, the issue is CONTROL! The scum we call government that "claims" to work on our behalf, acts more like the Mafia and less like the government of "free People".
I can honestly say that I hate this idea that Government can regulate anything it wants to. Regulation is the opposite of Freedom.
What a bunch of bull! Leave the gambling company alone. They are NOT the criminals... The Federal Government sure is one LARGE criminal organization though and unfortunately it's the one with the monopoly on the use of force too!
How the government makes these guys out to be criminals is just so out of touch with reality. The Government is the TRUE criminal. And we the people are the true "Slaves" to the system that has been molded to keep us "Penned In" by men who have commandeered our Government on their behalf to "control" us little peasants and to guarantee their continued "forced" success because truth be told, lot's of these Wall St corporations would not exist if the Government wasn't forcing the rest of us to bail them out with money we don't have and forcing their monopolies upon us through unlawful laws! But that's what political connections buys.
Last time I looked, the biggest GAMBLING operation that was and is still "UNREGULATED" is all of these un-backed market derivatives, assets and default swaps created over the last decade worth approximately $60 TRILLION dollars. NOW that's a problem. I don't see any of those guys going to jail or having their assets frozen and taken over by the government. 3 Billion is a fraction of a fraction of the derivative market! But those guys keep getting bailout after bailout. Seems quite uneven to me! At least those who were running the gambling site didn't need any bailouts and were running a truly successful operation until the government screwed that all up.
Government claiming authority to keep us safe from ourselves is very "police state" style government.
This taking over of Internet sites is the FIRST step in squelching free speech and ideas. The US Government is desperately trying to make it legal to just shut down any site at will. All under the guise of terrorism or regulation! Any site that would be something the government does NOT approve of for us! LOL, who are they to decide what's right for me and what's not.
We are at the beginning phases of the destruction of the "Free" Internet. This is very bad news indeed. And this is just one more casualty to add to the list.
THE US GOVERNEMNT IS THE BIGGEST TERRORIST IN THE WORLD AT PRESENT! For what it does, is so beyond it's constitutionally delegated authorities!
What shall those do that value Liberty, freedom of association, freedom of contract, freedom of speech, freedom from unlawful searches and seizures, freedom from unlawful government force, freedom from having your privacy violated to the core, freedom from constant surveillance, freedom from the VIOLATION of your property rights, freedom from laws that make things that are NOT crimes into crimes, freedom from harassment by "law enforcement" enforcing their will upon us..... etc etc etc..... boy, how I long to be "truly" free!
As Patrick Henry Said, "
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”
How true..... sigh.....
Canadians that want the US to function like Canada (socialized medicine, gun control .....) are a threat!
On a positive note: Roll Mega Millions Roll! ..........
About $60,000,000 wire transfer for a Pennsylvania Winner (no State or Local Taxes for us on Lottery Winnings) with about another $8,000,000 due by the end of the year without any tax mitigation!
Woo Hoo .............
What's that saying about the government not wanting competition. Yeah...
Meanwhile the gangbangers and other criminals roam free.
Beyond the illegal nature of the online gambling site, I think the next concern of the US government was all the lost tax revenue from the millions paid
out to Maryland residents. Beyond that I agree with everything you say. Big government intervention is almost always a losing proposition for the
rest of us hard working, tax paying patriotic Americans.
Anytime your making a buck... the government wants in on it... This government needs to be cleaned out of all the corruption..
Gotta admit that B.O. & the rest of the Gov boys sure wanna make certain that no dollar made doesnt get redistributed without their knowledge.... Which entity is the greedy one now ????
Where are the Maryland winners spending their winnings........M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D more than likely. Which means that they are helping to create jobs and helping the economy. The gosh dang governmet just don't get it.
Let the people do with their own money what the heck they want to and stay the heck out of the way.
-Michael
Why hasn't there been any indictments for the mortgage fiasco????
Use to have alot of fun on bodog. The states are missing out of easy profits by not legalizing it online. I have a feeling trump and the other casinos have something to do with this. LOL,I see they have a new site already.
Old news. Bodog is now called Bovada and is still active
NEWSFLASH: Obama and the Democrat Party backs OWS protests against the 1% of wealth holders. Last I checked, even Warren Buffett does not have a budget of 1 trillion dollars; oh, but the grand ol' US government has a budget of 1.3 trillion dollars. So that would make President Obama the 1% and all the rest of us, including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the 99%. So BO has indeed hoodwinked the OWS folks to camp out in town squares and Wall Street when they should have been camping out on the WH lawn. Fools!
Just watched John Stossels, "Illegal Everything" on Fox and this action here by the government is confirmation of the fact the government is just looking for all the ways it can to make any and everybody criminals and dependent on the government itself.
There are a number of things that need to be repealed when the new President takes over next year such as:
1. Repeal ObamaCare.
2. Repeal illegal gambling laws.
3. Repeal illegal drug laws (every last one of them; follow Portugals experience in which drug use actually decreased following decriminalization of drugs there).
4. Repeal prostitution laws.
5. Repeal Roe v Wade.
6. Repeal the repeal of DADT.
7. Repeal Dodd-Frank.
8. Repeal payment to former President Obama.
Okay, I just got on a roll and that sounded good!
I am sure we have some moralists who will disagree with any number of my calls for repeal, but no need to comment on that...just think about that when you are going about your day in early November.
This story is insane. That's good this illegal activity has come to an end.
OBAMA 2012
But ........ if we decriminalize drugs ............ what reason will the Mexicans have to kill each other!?
Roll Mega Millions ................ Pennsylvania needs to have our first big Jackpot in MM !
Tell it all brother!! Ron Paul in '12.
How come our government can bully foreign companies and arrest their citizens? If websites are located outside the U.S., then the most that should be allowed is to stop that website from coming within the U.S. borders. If our government can prove that someone owed taxes on their winnings, they should collect the taxes from those gamblers. If the people doing the gambling broke the law, they should have their day in court. We should have no arrest powers for foreign citizens unless they physically entered the U.S., committed a crime and then sought refuge in a foreign country.
Certainly Canada was not trying to impose some kind of socialist behavior on U.S. citizens as a previous poster seemed concerned about.
Why hasn't there been an indictment on all of those Congressmen who have benefited from the inside trader information gained over the years.
Like poor Martha was!
let me understand you correctly...say you win fridays mega million...being a pa resident and purchasing the ticket in pa,
then you would not have to pay taxes to the state?
how much would the federal government take?
is it true you can write off your losses against your winnings with the IRS?
i also agree about the part about legalizing drugs...you really dont need any other drug than mary jane anyway...
stronger drugs i would not be so sure about legalizing...because people would start and go running naked in the street!!!
well this is kinda crazy and stupid...but makes me think twice about playing online anymore...I do have one question about this article..why did they single out the state of MARYLAND..I guess if I were to try and read between the lines..looks like it is says that MARYLANDERS likes to play poker online...and ALOT OF THEM...haha
Gamblers in Maryland and elsewhere were sent a least $100 million by wire and check from 2005 to 2012, the U.S. Attorney's office said, adding Bodog conducted a $42 million advertising campaign between 2005 and 2008 to attract gamblers to the Bodog.com website.
Its always a problem when uncle sam doesnt get his cut. thats what this is all about....these guys didnt do anything wrong other than fail to pay taxes on the money they were making.....bless america !!!! lmao !!! (no god involved)
I love all the clueless people that post on here.
The Feds, you know the CIA and FBI are literally swarming and overrun with Mormons and I think we know which party the Mormons belong too.
Don't strain your brain too hard, but you can look it up for yourself.
Mormon controlled FBI, CIA and President and then you will really see some fun times in this country.
The Feds tend to do their own thing, regardless of who is President and Jesus Christ get real, Ron Paul? That dude has not won a single primary in his life and has not even come close to winning one. I constantly read you people talking about Ron Paul 2012 but somehow you don't seem to go out and vote. You do know that is how the electoral process actually works right? And if by some miracle of miracles Ron Paul actually became President, he could never get any of his pipe dream bills passed anyway. You do know for a law to actually get passed it has to get passed in the Senate and the House and then approved by the President? He just does not walk in with a magic wand and pass these magic bills all by himself.
The lobbyists actually run this country, if you have a problem with a particular law, you might want to take it up with them.
All I can say is that I hate I was not in on the receiving end. I could use some of that $100 millions.
inevitably it will be cleaned...if anyone doesn't think we're not gonna look like what's been going on in europe and other places with people going apesh*t in the streets because of out of control government they got another thing coming.
The part that really burns my as$ is that they shouldn't even be wasting resources on stuff like this now since times are tough for alot of folks.I have a hard time believing the money people win doesn't filter into the the economy in a positive way.
There have been no State or Local Taxes on Lottery Winnings in Pennsylvania for a long time! If you win, there is an automatic 25% deducted for Federal Taxes. You would owe the balance of the 35% Tax Rate unless you mitigate your tax burden. You would take home about $39,000,000 as a resident of Pennsylvania!
Oh boy, Obama's got Eric Holder and the DOJ going after gamblers now.
I guess that's better than having him running guns for the Mexican Drug Cartels and getting our own guys killed with them.
This'll be another fine mess.
The Mormons are coming! The Mormons are coming!
The Mormons are gonna getcha!
The Mormons are gonna getcha!
The Mormons are gonna getcha!
The Mormons are gonna getcha!
I thought Bodog got busted long time ago.
WELL LOOK AT THE BRITE SIDE<THEY PAID OVER $100 million to there customers ,,when you win money and dont get paid ,,your blood pressure will hit 150/99,,
Yeah isn’t that something, they pay out money to their customers and get seized by our government. Banks in the U.S. rip off the public and almost bankrupt the country and what do they get? Bailed Out.
Something is very wrong in this country of ours!
-Michael
They committed crimes within the US. The fact that they themselves werent in the US is irrelevant. Though they weren't physically present in the US, they conducted their illegal gambling business in the US by way of the website, transferring money into the US, and perhaps other means.
So, these guys violate the laws of states in the US, and you think they should get a pass? Pull your head out; they broke the law, they pay the penalty. It's just that simple.
I say the U.S. government should block that website so our citizens cannot access it. Their website is located outside the U.S. and is legal in Canada. If it is illegal here, then it should be up to the government to "protect" us. Why put the burden on the website owners and subject them to being arrested? It should be relevant where the owners are located. If they set foot inside our borders, then we should have jurisdiction, not before.
It's all comparitive. Look at the crimes others have committed, including our own banks and even worse our government, and get back to me. Maybe scot free is a bit too easy on them, but they arent scamming people or hurting anyone.Pull YOUR head out, wake the feck up, and go back to church. Oh, and why are you even on this site? Do you even support online gambling? Or gambling at all for that matter?
I love your first sentence...are you asking for some drunken monkey style to rip out your forked tongue??
Are you saying that if a mormon is elected president it would be a threat to christian values? Its not so much the mormons you have to worry about because they are mostly sheep anyway...what i have heard on youtube and on southpark is that what you have to worry about are the satanists who conceal themselves within the mormon religion.
Ron Paul has a very young base of followers, those same young that are going to pick up the bill for our out of control spending.
You always hear that the country will be less safe if Ron Paul is elected...but he is the ONLY candidate (i think) that has actually done any military service for his country!!!
I agree the lobbyists actually run the country...but how do you actually propose that i take it up with them...offer them half of my MM JP?
Do you understand what happened?
"If it is illegal here, then it should be up to the government to "protect" us."
It is illegal here, so the government did "protect" us.
"Why put the burden on the website owners and subject them to being arrested?"
Umm, because they're the ones who were breaking the law? Why does it matter where they were? They may have been sitting on their asses in Canada, but they reached across the border and broke US laws.
"If they set foot inside our borders, then we should have jurisdiction, not before."
Are you sure about that?
I agree with you 100% and then some. WHAT about the Savings and Loan, the mortgage flip/flop, the illegal signing of the foreclosure papers with "John Doe's" and all the other corruption in government? WHO is going to jail for that? WE the People suffer because the Government decides who goes to jail, but they are exempt?
The elected officials are ''allowed'' insider trading, its against the law but no one stops the people we send to office to serve the public interests from doing it and their friends and families too. How do you think they got so rich with a job that would take them 50 years to become rich? Uhmmm???
What about the guy that stole money and gave it to the Tea Party? Didn't give much from the 340 million that he stole, but I didn't hear that they gave the money back.
Don't get me started on the Pac Fund or the Court's decision that a corporation is an individual with the same rights as you and me........
God help us all!
I could go on, but it gives me a headache.....A bad one.
I agree.
It just seems to keep getting worse.
We need regime change in the White House and the Senate.
Power to the People!
I've never won a thing on Bodog, so I could care less. Games seemed rigged, no wonder Calvin Ayre was making so much money, lol.
YES! Too much government!
Are you a high fed government official? Because that is their attitude towards the people. (care less)
I think this is more “what you have, I want attitude”………and they got the guns
Look government sees gambling as tax for the stupid and if someone else is getting smarter, that’s what draws a line...and again....yes they have the guns
Oh and it does not matter if you live in Mars, or Venus We (the goverment) still think you are breaking the law, so you can't even run an operation from Mars,Venus.......and again they have rockets,missiles
While agree with you on regime change Ridge....I also thing we need a change in how the Gov is allowed to run once they(elected officials) get in there. Laws mostly are created to stop you from being harmed financially and physically but not tax wise. If this Bodog group was doing business fairly with customers with their bets & payouts from other countries, who was harmed ? I know I wasn't at all. The governments pockets were !!! ....because they weren't getting "their cut" and can't stop over-spending when they do. While we are a nation of laws..we were supposed to be a nation of freedom and reasonableness. At what point will our wonderful elected officials stop wanting to control our every dollar earned or statement said ? That includes both the Republicans and Democrats. I never thought George Orwell's "1984" would come to fruition. But the desire to control and regulate is getting way overboard....whats next ? a tax for carbon production because you breath air ? Oh wait, aren't they already talking about taxing nations for Carbon production ??..
I think good ole Abe Lincoln said it best, " America will not be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves" and the other one I am leaning towards is, " This country, with its institutions, belong to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it."
"Power to the people" is slowly becoming "Power to the (select group of)people"........In my humble opinion
7 players from West Virginia took home a total of $14,000,000 in Powerplay money!
A much better deal than a $20 Scratch-off Game! For only $3!
WV goes Green ........... with money ..........
this is so true........real talk!!!!!
This is not a partisan issue, no matter how badly the usual suspects want it to be so. This is a government problem, period. Government greed knows not left or right, just green.