Federal agents serve Youbet.com with a search warrant
A federal search warrant was served at the California headquarters of Youbet.com last week as part of a federal investigation, according to a report on the horse racing Web site bloodhorse.com.
In a document filed Oct. 9 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Youbet.com said officials from an affiliate agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security presented the search warrant at the advance deposit wagering company's Woodland Hills headquarters. The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas.
The search warrant involved "various records, including, among other things, business records of our IRG business related to the wagering activities of certain customers."
IRG is an off-shore entity owned by Youbet.com that offers rebates to customers. The bloodhorse.com report said that details of the Las Vegas investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office haven't been disclosed, but it is believed to involve activities affiliated with at least one other prominent off-shore ADW unrelated to Youbet and IRG, and possibly others.
In a written statement Oct. 10, the company said: "Youbet.com is assisting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney's Office in an investigation involving several individuals. To that end, Youbet.com provided documents to officials as part of a search warrant that was served at company headquarters last week.
"It is important to note that federal authorities indicated that no Youbet.com employees or subsidiaries are the focus of this inquiry. Further, Youbet.com has not been accused of any wrongdoing whatsoever. Youbet.com is making all of the required disclosures and notifications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Youbet.com Board of Directors regarding this issue. Going forward, Youbet.com will continue to assist authorities as it has done since last week."