Three more BetonSports defendants enter guilty pleas
June 24, 2009
Neil Scott Kaplan and Lori Beth Kaplan-Multz, the brother and sister of BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan, together with his personal assistant, Penelope Tucker, each pleaded guilty this week in federal court in St. Louis to felony racketeering charges and agreed to forfeit millions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds.
Art Margulis, Gary Kaplan’s lawyer, told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that his client was “pleased that his siblings were able to resolve their issues with the government.” All three will avoid imprisonment under the guilty plea, having agreed to forfeit their share of an estimated $7 million of profits from the online gambling business, held in offshore bank accounts.
Neil Kaplan will serve two months in a halfway house and eight months under house arrest. Lori Beth Kaplan will spend two to four months in a halfway house and six to eight months under house arrest. Penelope Tucker will serve one year probation.
The guilty pleas follows those of former CEO David Carruthers and the company itself, leaving Gary Kaplan as the only defendant to face trial in the case. Kaplan maintains his innocence and has vowed to vigorously defend himself.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Holtshouser said the sentences reflect the minimal roles that Neil Kaplan and Lori Beth Kaplan played, their lack of decision-making power and their willingness to surrender their BetOnSports money.
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