Costa Rica-based sportsbook 5 Dimes has reached a $46.8 million deal with the U.S. government to settle charges of money-laundering.
The agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania requires 5Dimes to pay $15 million in cash, forfeit more than $30 million in assets and stop accepting wagers from U.S. customers, according to documents obtained by cable sports network ESPN.
The settlement also frees 5Dimes to pursue opportunities in legal U.S. markets by absolving Laura Varela, the widow of 5Dimes founder William Sean Creighton, of any criminal conduct, acknowledging that she did not have “day-to-day authority” over its operations and had overseen “significant changes” to make 5Dimes “suitable for participating in lawful gaming operations across the world.”
“Whether she’s positioned well for regulators, that’s up for the regulators to decide,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carrillo. “(5Dimes) certainly is no longer in violation of federal law.”
5Dimes flourished for years with the support of U.S. bettors at a time when wagering on sports was largely illegal outside the state of Nevada. In 2016, federal authorities began investigating the operation for money laundering, alleging that 5Dimes was using third-party payment processors to accept credit card bets from customers in the states and disguise the transactions and facilitate funds transfers from customers’ U.S. banks to shell companies operated by Creighton.
Creighton, who was never formally charged, was kidnapped in September 2018 and was found dead a year later. Varela, who assumed responsibility for 5Dimes’ assets after his disappearance, contacted federal authorities in the spring of 2019 to offer her cooperation.
As a result of the settlement, 5Dimes has established a U.S. corporation, 5D Americas, to weigh opportunities for expanding into the country legally.
Sports betting currently is regulated in 18 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Varela told ESPN she is “very, very happy and very excited about what the new chapter of 5Dimes can be.”
