BetonSports (BoS) founder Gary Kaplan will spend at least two more weeks in federal custody at the request of his lawyers.
Kaplan was arraigned today in a St. Louis federal courtroom, represented by one of his three attorneys, Chris Flood, of Flood and Flood, Houston, Texas.
Kaplan entered a plea of not guilty.
Meanwhile, Kaplan's detention hearing has been pushed back until May 25 due to a scheduling conflict with another member of the legal team, Dick Deguerin, who is unavailable because he is in trial until that date.
It stands to reason that Kaplan's detention and arraignment would create a significant setback for the case as a whole. He would be entitled to the same considerations as the other defendants in terms of pretrial motions and discovery. Kaplan already asked for additional time to file pretrial motions.
Jeff Jensen at the U.S. Attorney's office, however, was unable to give a firm answer on how Kaplan's presence will affect the case.
An evidentiary hearing has been scheduled for Kaplan on June 4.
"Mr. Kaplan has entered a plea of not guilty and intends to vigorously defend against the charges filed against him and others," Flood said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Kaplan's former relationship to BetonSports, which was located outside the United States, was perfectly legitimate. Mr. Kaplan looks forward to being exonerated after a jury hears all the facts."
Kaplan's third lawyer is defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, who in 1998 defended and lost the federal case against Jay Cohen of World Sports Exchange. Cohen was charged with violating the Wire Act as well as conspiracy.
Brafman's clients outside of the gaming industry include Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Michael Jackson (until being replaced in 2004).
Emily Swoboda is the senior staff writer at IGamingNews. She lives in St. Louis, Mo.