Yesterday, the United States Department of Justice announced that an agreement had been reached with 5Dimes. The offshore sports betting operator will pay over $46 million to settle an investigation within the US federal government that started back in 2016. 5Dimes announced at the same time that they are working to position themselves to enter the US market in a legal manner. They have already filed paperwork in Delaware to get started.
Get to Know 5Dimes
William Sean Creighton created 5Dimes in 2011 in Costa Rica. The sportsbook has done well, even with US bettors, over the past few years. Bettors were able to create accounts with the offshore book, but federal authorities caught wind of it and the investigation soon started.
Authorities said that 5Dimes used third-party payment processors to allow bettors from the US to make deposits and hide the transactions. Officials also said that money was laundered via the company with gold bullion, coins and rare sports trading cards.
In an odd turn of events, Creighton was kidnapped two years ago, and his body was found one year after the kidnapping. His widow, Laura Varela, took over 5Dimes at that time. In a recent statement, Laura said that she is exploring how to relaunch the brand as a legal sportsbook in the US as well as casino gaming.
It was Laura who took action to settle the matter with the federal government. She contacted the US attorney’s office in Pennsylvania and the most recent 2016 investigation began. Laura and 5Dimes agreed to surrender money and items that total $46.8 million. This is payment to cover wire fraud violations, money laundering and the transmission of gambling information.
With the settlement, the feds agreed to avoid pursuing penalties of a criminal fashion or seeking a civil suit based on the crimes committed.
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