Prosecutors: 11 charged in illegal sports betting operation

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say 11 people across the country have been charged with tax evasion and other crimes in connection to an online sports-betting organization. Prosecutors said the defendants operated the Red44 sports betting organization that utilized an offshore server located in Costa Rica for its activities. The 114-count indictment was filed in Birmingham and includes charges of tax evasion, conspiring to operate an illegal sports-betting organization and money laundering. The indictment alleges that the organization accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in wagers from gamblers but that operators failed to pay millions of dollars in excise taxes.