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  • Cohen denied by Supreme Court

    As reported by Bettorsworld FRIDAY, the decision has been reached by the US Supreme Court concerning Jay Cohens appeal.

    The appeal was denied.

  • #2
    WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The former president of an offshore Internet gambling company faces prison time after the Supreme Court Monday refused to review his 2000 conviction.

    Acting without comment, the justices turned away an appeal by Jay Cohen, a former options trader who helped launch Antigua-based World Sports Exchange Ltd. in 1997. Cohen's attorneys contend that he didn't violate the federal Wire Wager Act by taking wagers from Americans over the Internet and telephones.

    Cohen was sentenced to 21 months in prison for running afoul of the statute, which prohibits the use of telephone lines in interstate or foreign commerce to place bets on sports events. He was the first Internet offshore gaming operator to be convicted under the Wire Wager law, prosecutors said at the time.

    The government said World Sports Exchange targeted U.S. bettors, promoting its business throughout the country by radio, newspaper and television. During one 15-month period, it collected about $5.3 million in funds wired by its American customers.

    At trial, Cohen said he believed the business was legal because it took place entirely in Antigua. He pointed out that the Wire Wager statute allowed the transmission of "information" between states and countries where betting on the particular sports event was legal.

    World Sports Exchange customers set up accounts by wiring $300 to Antigua. Cohen said they don't actually place bets on the Internet or over the telephone, but instead give directions to place bets. The company was modeled after the New York Off-Track Betting Corp.

    The conviction was upheld last summer by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York .

    Cohen's attorneys said the appeals court decision "effectively criminalizes significant portions of two highly regulated and otherwise legal industries - the offshore wagering industry and the off-track betting industry - that employ thousands of people and handle billions of dollars of transactions."

    World Sports Exchange, which is licensed by the Gaming Commission of Antigua and Barbuda, continues to operate from its Caribbean base.

    The case is Cohen vs. U.S. , 01-1234.

    Second Circuit Web site: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov

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    • #3
      when does cohen have to report to the slammer? and do you think he'll continue to post on these boards from within prison?

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      • #4
        Lets move on

        It is time to move on now. Too many energies have been wasted on a case that was never going to be reversed no matter what attorneys Cohen had.

        Lets simply let Mr. Cohen go to his country club and we will wish him well.

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        • #5
          Judge Judith: You think Cohen commited a crime. Give me a break. Since the gov't has chosen to make an example of him, he might not go to a Country Club. No prison is a Country Club.

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          • #6
            no way cohen goes to jail---he heads back to antigua to run wsex & he stays there with shillinger

            cohen wouldnt last 3 seconds in jail

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            • #7
              WSEX is no doubt one of the best out there, but I must say, I will not understand using taxpayer money to fight a 21 month jail sentence and a $5,000 fine all the way to a Supreme Court when you'd have to expect an unfair fight.

              If he heads off to Antigua after wanting to the industry hero, and doesn't face his loss like a man, his reputation will never be the same.

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              • #8
                Sad News For All of Us

                Sorry the Supremes decided not to hear the case. I thought it raised some interesting and important issues related to Internet jurisdiction, sports betting and what have you. The OTB model is Exactly the Same as WSEX, but no one is going after OTB because it's state sanctioned. That is the ONLY difference between the two.

                I think since Jay stood up in a straight forward manner, didn't antagonize the government, or play fugitive hide and seek, they haven't got it in for him. The guy came back to face charges he thought were bogus. This isn't the kind of guy you want to hammer.

                He just had a different opinion than they did and he was willing to back it up with his most valuable assets - his time and money. Now he is looking at 21 months. Big gamble, bad breaks and now he has few options.

                The other two guys convicted of this (Jeff Allen being one) are going up for twice the time and paid millions in fines.

                Blowfish - I am not sure I understand you. If you got a sentence for a crime you didn't feel you had done, you'd do what exactly - just go to jail and pay the fine to save the taxpayer a buck? Be serious! It costs as much for George W. to take a leak on Air Force One as it did to try Jay's case.

                So Rosa Parks should have just given up that seat on the bus, Mrs. Mapp (Don King's girlfriend by the way) should have allowed the police to search her residence without a warrant and the Constitution would exist in people's imaginations, school text books and nowhere else. The Bill of Rights would have as much meaning as a McDonald's menu if we all took that approach.

                I think many thought Jay's case was a lost cause because the fix was in from the start. The powers that be just couldn't have an offshore book get the seal of approval from the judiciary. The government would be unable, as would all the Vegas casinos, to stem the flow of US gambling dollars (or so they opine) out of the country.

                But that doesn't mean Jay was wrong to stand up for what he thought was right. I mean sometime you gotta fight even though you know you will lose. The only other option is to tattoo "WELCOME" on your back and become a human doormat. Some people can do just that and play it off like it's no big deal, but to be honest I think those type of people are cowards of the lowest type.

                Your opinion is only worth what you are willing to stake on it and Jay staked everything on his. I wish him well in the future - whatever it holds. 21 months isn't forever if that's what it takes.
                As Always - Good Luck,

                Sonny

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                • #9
                  Excellent post by Stardust....the REAL waste of taxpayer money is having the Federal government spending it in an effort to further curtail the personal liberties of American citizens.

                  JRM
                  THE PROPHET
                  www.netprophetsports.com
                  Affordable, successful and honest handicapping of all major sports and most minor sports.

                  www.netprophetsports.com

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