US federal authorities are asking for the extradition of Calvin Ayre answer for charges of illegal gambling business and money laundering made against him in 2012.
Federal authorities in the state of Maryland are asking for the extradition of Calvin Ayre to the US. The 53-year-old Ayre is a known online gambling mogul who became a billionaire after forming the online gambling company Bobdog in the mid-90s, launching Bobdog.com in the year 2000.
2012 Indictment
In February 2012 Ayre was indicted in charges filed against him in Maryland. Ayre was charged with conducting an illegal gambling business and being involved in a money laundering conspiracy together with three other accomplices. According to the indictment, Ayre and the three men moved at least $100 million from offshore accounts to bettors in Maryland and elsewhere in the US, at the same time investing $42 million for advertisements to attract US gamblers.
Since the indictment, Ayre has abstained from setting foot on US soil; however he has continued to be active on the Bodog website and the CalvinAyre website which covers news from the online gambling industry. At the time of the 2012 indictment, Ayre responded on his news site, calling the charges "an abuse of the US criminal justice system for the commercial gain of large US corporations."
Ayre in "Most Wanted" List
A disclosure made in the US District Court in Maryland last Friday has shown the intent of the US to have Ayre extradited to the country to answer for the charges. Assistant US Attorney Richard Kay asked that the case will be administratively closed until Ayre is extradited to the country, something which could take a number of years according to Kay.
Ayre, who is believed to be in Canada or in Antigua, has also made it to the "Most Wanted" list of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department for "Illegal Gambling Business, Money Laundering". At the time of writing of this article the CalvinAyre website was down.
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