California Native Scott Brannon Sentenced for Operating Illegal Gambling Business in Costa Rica

Michael Lawrence Brannon Hutson, widely known as Scott Brannon, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to operating an illegal gambling business in Costa Rica.

A judge in Texas sentenced Brannon to one year of probation, with the first six months to be served under home confinement. Brannon also agreed to forfeit $25 million, which he acknowledged as proceeds from the gambling operation.

According to court documents, Brannon agreed to plead guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business in February this year. He allegedly operated the gambling platform Tradewinds between 2013 and 2021, along with several others.

Investigation Dates Back to 2015

Costa Rican authorities first launched an investigation into Brannon and his business partner, David Patey, in 2015. At the time, Patey served as the president of one of the biggest soccer teams in the country, Club Sport Herediano.

Emilia Navas, interim district attorney, said the two men were suspected of running extensive illegal businesses, including drug trafficking and money laundering. In 2018, Navas revealed Costa Rican authorities had opened a case in 2015.

“The crimes Hutson and Patey are being investigated for include money laundering and drug trafficking. There are other people involved in this investigation. The purchase of gas stations acquired in the Zona Norte (North Zone of Costa Rica) are also being investigated; this is a complex case; these type of crimes, due to the type of proof we need to search for are generally slow”, Navas told local news.

Patey denied the charges, saying Navas’ public revelations had caused him great harm. However, he did admit that Brannon was running a gambling operation.

“Scott has an online betting business in Asia, with a call center here, like many others; it’s a transparent business,” he said in a press conference. “I put my hands on fire for him. I’ve never seen anything illegal.”

Admission Sparks Further Investigation

The admission that Brannon was running a gambling operation sparked an immediate investigation by the Costa Rican Football Federation. Brannon was also a co-owner of Club Sport Herediano along with Patey.

However, under FIFA rules, individuals who manage or own professional soccer teams are strictly prohibited from having any links to gambling or sports betting operations.

Patey later resigned from his position as club president amid the scandal.

Costa Rica Used to Operate Gambling Businesses

Patey admitted that Brannon served Asian customers through the Tradewinds website, which used a Costa Rican domain (www.trdwd.ec).

Archives show the website allowed users to choose between Spanish, Chinese, Thai, and English when accessing the site. Online gambling is illegal in both China and Thailand. Tradewinds did not hold any valid gambling licenses. The site is now inaccessible, with the last operational date in June last year.

As part of the sentencing, the court also prohibited Brannon from “owning, operating, managing, consulting for, or participating, directly or indirectly, in any gambling business,” as well as “registering, maintaining, or accessing any internet domain, server, or platform for the purpose of promoting or operating gambling services.”

While the court ordered Brannon to forfeit $25 million, sources told CasinoBeats that Tradewinds was a large-scale operation and would have generated far more in profits.

Brannon, however, was not the sole owner. Prosecutors raided the home of co-owner Clarence ‘Gary’ Austin in 2021, seizing $13 million in assets. There is no record that Austin has been prosecuted in the case.

Costa Rica is frequently used as a base for offshore gambling operations, which can operate websites and call centers under relatively little regulation.

Last year, the Japanese government requested that Costa Rican authorities close down sites in the country that were allowing Japanese users to gamble illegally. Despite being under investigation, Brannon has not faced any charges in Costa Rica.