Body of Abducted Online Bookmaker ‘5Dimes Tony’ Found in Costa Rica Cemetery, Confirmed by US State Dept

Posted on: September 17, 2019, 11:45h. 

Last updated on: September 20, 2019, 07:36h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

The body of American offshore bookmaker William Sean Creighton, known professionally as 5Dimes Tony, was found last week in a cemetery in a small fishing village in Costa Rica, 100 miles from where he was abducted last year, ESPN reports.

5Dimes
One of the few known photographs of Creighton (top left); his Porsche Cayenne Turbo that was apparently rammed off the road in September 2018 (bottom left); police arrest suspects in Costa Rica (main). (Image: Daily Mail)

Costa Rican authorities said Monday they had identified the body as that of Creighton and were waiting for an autopsy to confirm a cause of death.

The discovery of Creighton’s body has been announced before. In October 2018, several Costa Rican news outlets cited “sources” within the police force. But this time, the discovery appears to be legitimate.

The announcement was confirmed by the US State Department on Monday afternoon, which offered “sincerest condolences to the family for their loss.”

Maverick Operator

Creighton was a pioneer of online sports betting and the owner of the 5Dimes sports book, which he launched in Costa Rica in 1998 at a time when the legality of offshore sports books catering to Americans was still a gray area.

That period didn’t last long, and by the mid-2000s, the West Virginia native was a bad actor in the eyes of the US government.

In 2016, federal prosecutors accused 5Dimes of laundering $2 million. He did that by encouraging customers to make deposits and accept withdrawals using Amazon gift cards as a means of swerving the ban on financial institutions from processing unregulated online gambling transactions.

Suspects Awaiting Trial

Creighton was kidnapped on September 24, 2018 as he left the 5Dimes offices in San Pedro. According to media reports at the time, his Porsche Cayenne Turbo was forced off the road by two gunmen on motorbikes and two more in a BMW. Police later said it had been four men in a grey pickup truck.

The kidnappers telephoned Creighton’s wife the next day demanding a $5 million ransom in bitcoin. Ultimately, $1 million was paid, police said. After paying the money, she heard no more from the kidnappers.

In early November, police said three people suspected of involvement in the abduction had fled to Cuba. Then, on November 9, they left Cuba and traveled to Spain, where they were arrested in the city of Zaragoza and extradited to Costa Rica.

The suspects are alleged ringleader Jordan Morales Vega, his mother, Guiselle Vega Aguirre, and a woman called Maria Fernanda Solis Chaves. All three are currently awaiting trial for extortive kidnapping.

Nine others have also been arrested in Costa Rica in relation to the case.