Elgin City footballer implicated of match betting fraud charge

7 March 2023

A Scottish league footballer implicated of hatching a plot with pals to defraud a bookie had more than ₤ 2,000 in his bedside drawer, a trial heard.

Elgin City striker Kane Hester was discovered with the money when his family home was robbed.

He rejects backing himself to get booked during a match versus Hibs as part of a scheme with three others to defraud Bet365.

Findlay Soutar, Calvin Parrott and Brodie Myres likewise reject the charge.

In a joint declaration concurred by the Crown and defence legal representatives, it was verified that Mr Hester had gotten a yellow card throughout the first half of the Scottish League Cup video game.

It likewise validated that the 3 other accused had undertaken a variety of monetary transactions in the hours before the match in July 2019.

Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan checked out the declaration to jurors at Dundee Sheriff Court where the yohaig code accused, all from Montrose, have gone on trial.

Suspicious betting patterns

Mr Duncan stated it was agreed as reality that Mr Myres had paid cash into Mr Soutar's account and also into an account coming from Mr Parrott.

He said bets worth countless pounds had actually been put on Mr Hester getting reserved and the bookmaker had actually paid out jackpots at chances of 5-1.

Mr Duncan said it was concurred that mix bets - consisting of Mr Hester getting a yellow card - were also put and won by members of the implicated group.

The Scottish Football Association actioned in to produce an efficiency review of Mr Hester during the match after looking out about suspicious betting patterns on the game.

The court was revealed video footage of Hester's home being robbed and the yohaig code footballer informing officers he knew what they were there for and would take them to the money.

Hester said: "Do you know what would be much easier? I understand what you are discussing. 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 money, that's what happened.

"I was scheduled in a game and my friends gave me money for it - ₤ 2,500."

Mr Hester is declared to have plotted before the match with three others to position a series of bets on him being scheduled by the referee.

The court heard ₤ 2,400 was later on discovered in his bedside drawer.

The charge alleges the four males received ₤ 17,333.32 in payments from Bet365 in 2019, and that ₤ 13,583.32 of it was gotten as unlawful payouts.

An alternate version of the charge declares they cheated at betting by positioning five bets on Mr Hester being booked and that he was shown a yellow card for a nasty, leading to them incorrectly getting ₤ 13,583.32 in jackpots.

The trial, before Sheriff Paul Brown, continues.

Montrose