Elgin City Footballer Accused Of Match Betting Fraud Charge
7 March 2023
ShareSave
A Scottish league implicated of hatching a plot with good friends to defraud a bookie had more than ₤ 2,000 in his bedside drawer, a trial heard.
Elgin City striker Kane Hester was found with the cash when his family home was raided.
He denies backing himself to get reserved during a match versus Hibs as part of a plan with three others to defraud Bet365.
Findlay Soutar, Calvin Parrott and Brodie Myres also deny the charge.
In a joint statement agreed by the Crown and defence attorneys, it was verified that Mr Hester had actually gotten a yellow card throughout the first half of the Scottish League Cup video game.
It likewise confirmed that the 3 other accused had actually carried out a number of monetary transactions in the hours before the match in July 2019.
Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan checked out the statement to jurors at Dundee Sheriff Court where the accused, all from Montrose, have gone on trial.
Suspicious wagering patterns
Mr Duncan said it was concurred as reality that Mr Myres had actually paid money into Mr Soutar's account and likewise into an account belonging to Mr Parrott.
He said bets worth thousands of pounds had actually been put on Mr Hester getting scheduled and the bookie had actually paid winnings at chances of 5-1.
Mr Duncan said it was agreed that mix bets - consisting of Mr Hester getting a yellow card - were also positioned and won by members of the implicated group.
The Scottish Football Association stepped in to produce an efficiency evaluation of Mr Hester throughout the match after looking out about suspicious betting patterns on the video game.
The court was revealed video of Hester's home being raided and the footballer telling officers he understood what they were there for and would take them to the cash.
Hester said: "Do you understand what would be much easier? I know what you are speaking about. There's no point mucking you about.
"I've got the cash, it's at home. If I take you home and provide you the cash, that's what occurred.
"I was booked in a game and my friends offered me cash for it - ₤ 2,500."
Mr Hester is declared to have actually outlined before the match with 3 others to place a series of bets on him being reserved by the referee.
The court heard ₤ 2,400 was later discovered in his bedside drawer.
The charge alleges the 4 men received ₤ 17,333.32 in payments from Bet365 in 2019, which ₤ 13,583.32 of it was obtained as illegal winnings.
An alternate version of the charge declares they cheated at gambling by putting 5 bets on Mr Hester being scheduled which he was revealed a yellow card for a nasty, resulting in them wrongly obtaining ₤ 13,583.32 in earnings.
The trial, before Sheriff Paul Brown, continues.
Montrose