Antigua man arrested at U.S. customs in connection with illegal gambling ring, first in Massachusetts

BOSTON (WWLP) – An Antigua man was arrested last week after being charged 13 years ago in Massachusetts with racketeering in connection with an illegal gambling ring.

According to the Department of Justice in Boston, 73-year-old Richard Sullivan of St. John’s, Antigua, was arrested on August 20th at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York while proceeding through customs upon his return to the United States from Antigua.

Sullivan was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in August 2010 with racketeering (RICO), operating an illegal gambling business, transmission of wagering information, money laundering, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. This prosecution marked one of the first times that individuals were charged with violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and the first in Massachusetts.

According to the indictment, Sullivan and his three co-conspirators – Todd Lyons, Robert Eremian and Daniel Eremian – operated Sports Offshore, an online gambling site licensed in Antigua that was actually operating in the United States, conducting an illegal gambling business that stretched from Massachusetts to Florida.

The ring allegedly employed approximately 50 gambling agents in the United States, who solicited hundreds of customers and collected gambling debts, forwarding the illegal gambling proceeds to Antigua so that authorities could not detect U.S.-based financial transactions involving Sports Offshore.

It is alleged that Sullivan managed Sports Offshore in St. John’s, Antigua while supervising approximately 30-50 employees who accepted phone and internet wagers from customers in the United States. According to the Department of Justice, Sullivan was responsible for a group of Massachusetts customers who gambled with Sports Offshore. He utilized people who lived in Massachusetts to collect money from his Massachusetts customers which would be shipped directly to Antigua via the mail. 

More than $22 million was allegedly collected for Sports Offshore through the illegal gambling operation and more than $10 million in checks and wire transfers were laundered.

In December 2011, Todd Lyons and Daniel Eremian were convicted following a five-week jury for their roles in the conspiracy.

• Todd Lyons was sentenced to four years in prison, one year of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $24.6 million.
• Daniel Eremian was sentenced to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $7.7 million.