The founder of a London-based Internet gambling firm had a handcuff key, five passports and cash from four countries when he was arrested in March, prosecutors said as they argued against his release before trial.
US Federal prosecutors said on Friday that Stephen Kaplan, 48, of BetOnSports PLC had planned to escape to a country that would not extradite him and therefore should not be released before his racketeering and fraud trial.
His attorneys asked US Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler for more time to respond to the allegations. A trial date has not been set.
Officials for BetOnSports pleaded guilty on behalf of the company on Thursday to a racketeering conspiracy charge, but the deal did not end the prosecutions of Kaplan and chief executive David Carruthers.
Assistant US Attorney Mike Fagan said that when Kaplan was arrested in March in the Dominican Republic, he had a handcuff key and five passports with his picture, some with different names, places of birth or other information.
Kaplan also carried large sums of cash from countries where extradition is difficult or impossible, Fagan said, referring to an FBI affidavit. Fagan also said Kaplan had a plan, detailed in a spiral notebook, to win diplomatic protection and asylum in Nicaragua.
Kaplan has US$107 million in assets outside the US and controls multiple bank accounts, Fagan said.
Kaplan's father-in-law, Warren Hoeffner, said Kaplan thought he could legally run a gambling business outside the US
Hoeffner said Kaplan would not flee or do anything that might hurt his relatives. He noted that Kaplan's wife is buying a house in the St Louis area and is planning to move there with the couple's two children.
He said he would be willing to put up houses, worth about US$6.6 million, to guarantee Kaplan's appearance in court.
The case against BetOnSports has been closely watched by the online gambling industry, which generates about US$6 billion annually in the US.
The charges were filed using a 1960s-era law known as the Wire Act, which prohibits placing bets on sports events over the phone.
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