Kane Hester “Betting Scam”

[Roy of the Rovers]

From The Courier:

A professional footballer has been accused of deliberately getting himself booked as part of a betting scam worth almost £14,000.

It is alleged a five-figure sum was paid out by bookmakers Bet 365 on Kane Hester being booked while playing for Elgin City in a Betfred Scottish League Cup game against Hibernian in 2019.

Hester, 25, Findlay Soutar, 24, Calvin Parrott, 26, and Brodie Myers, 27, all deny forming a fraudulent scheme between July 20 and August 2 2019.

Five separate bets were allegedly placed on former Arbroath striker Hester being booked in the game on July 26 2019.

Calf stamp allegation

Prosecutors allege Hester purposely committed a foul and received a booking after stamping on an opposing player’s calf.

The men allegedly received payments of £17,333.32 from Bet 365.

It is alleged £13,583.32 was fraudulently obtained.

Hester, of Rutland Crescent, Montrose, appeared personally on Tuesday at Dundee Sheriff Court to plead not guilty to the single charge on indictment.

Soutar, of the town’s Renny Crescent, Parrott, of North Street, and Myers, of Barns of Craig Steadings, were not present.

Sheriff Richard MacFarlane fixed a continued first diet for June.

Hibs won the League Cup group match 2-0 with goals by Joe Newell and Flo Kamberi.

Hester played more than 60 times for Arbroath between 2015 and 2019, scoring nine goals.

He left for Albion Rovers before signing for Elgin City in January 2019, where he has proved particularly prolific for the League 2 side.

[chris]

It has been rumbling on for years with the court date being put back several times over the last couple years,

elgin said at the time the would see his contract till they see what the court says,

I think the term used at the time was innocent till proven guilty

[Nanook]

If guilty, what a mug.

[marmiteman]

If guilty what a mug for getting caught 😂

[Roy of the Rovers]

At long last Hester’s trial has started.

**Due to Sub Judice laws we can’t discuss whether we think he is, or isn’t guilty on here or anywhere until the trial is over. Any dodgy postings will be deleted by me ASAP. **

The following article is from the BBC website:

A Scottish league footballer accused of hatching a plot with friends to defraud a bookmaker 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 booked during a match against Hibs as part of a scheme 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 lawyers, it was confirmed that Mr Hester had picked up a yellow card during the first half of the Scottish League Cup game.

It also confirmed that the three other accused had undertaken a number of financial transactions in the hours before the match in July 2019.
Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan read the statement to jurors at Dundee Sheriff Court where the accused, all from Montrose, have gone on trial.

Suspicious betting patterns

Mr Duncan said it was agreed as fact that Mr Myres had paid money into Mr Soutar's account and also into an account belonging to Mr Parrott.
He said bets worth thousands of pounds had been placed on Mr Hester getting booked and the bookmaker had paid out winnings at odds of 5-1.
Mr Duncan said it was agreed that combination bets - including Mr Hester getting a yellow card - were also placed and won by members of the accused group.

The Scottish Football Association stepped in to produce a performance review of Mr Hester during the match after being alerted about suspicious betting patterns on the game.

The court was shown footage of Hester's home being raided and the footballer telling officers he knew what they were there for and would take them to the cash.

Hester said: "Do you know what would be easier? I know what you are talking about. There's no point mucking you about.
"I've got the money, it's at home. If I take you home and give you the money, that's what happened.
"I was booked in a game and my friends gave me money for it - £2,500."
Mr Hester is alleged to have plotted before the match with three others to place a series of bets on him being booked by the referee.

The court heard £2,400 was later found in his bedside drawer.

The charge alleges the four men received £17,333.32 in payments from Bet365 in 2019, and that £13,583.32 of it was obtained as unlawful winnings.

An alternate version of the charge alleges they cheated at gambling by placing five bets on Mr Hester being booked and that he was shown a yellow card for a foul, leading to them falsely obtaining £13,583.32 in winnings.
The trial, before Sheriff Paul Brown, continues.

[Roy of the Rovers]

The following snippet is from the Sun's report on the trial:

Grade One referee William Collum gave evidence of how the match between Elgin City and Hibs had been "scrappy" and confirmed he had booked Hester in the first half.

The referee, who described himself as an Elite Category One referee with Champions League and international experience, said he had got Hester's booking wrong and should actually have shown him a red card.

Mr Collum said: "I recall it being a reckless challenge at the time and I have since been able to view the footage of the incident. I issued the player with a yellow card.

"I described the tackle in the match report as reckless. It is important to put in context that we watch every match back.

"When reviewing this incident - I was caught directly behind the tackle, which is not the best viewing position.

"After reviewing it from the footage I would deem this to be more serious than a yellow card and it would reach the criteria of endangering an opponent and merit a red card.

[teekasule]

**Due to Sub Judice laws we can’t discuss whether we think he is, or isn’t guilty on here or anywhere until the trial is over. Any dodgy postings will be deleted by me ASAP. **


but errrr..... LOL.
"Hester said: "Do you know what would be easier? I know what you are talking about. There's no point mucking you about.
"I've got the money, it's at home. If I take you home and give you the money, that's what happened.
"I was booked in a game and my friends gave me money for it - £2,500.""

[Roy of the Rovers]

Yes and he has pled not guilty apparently. As we all know he’s innocent until proven guilty!

[teekasule]

I 'bet' they all wear wee daft shoes without socks... Findlay, Calvin, Brodie and Kane !

[Roy of the Rovers]

From the BBC website today:

A Scottish league player admitted match fixing to help friends make almost £14,000 in bets, a jury has heard.

The court heard Elgin City forward Kane Hester told police he had been involved in a plan to get a yellow card during a match against Hibs in 2019.

The jury was told that Hester was booked after 29 minutes of the match and bookmaker Bet365 paid out £13,583.

He denies backing himself to get booked during a match against Hibs as part of a scheme with three others.

Findlay Soutar, Calvin Parrott and Brodie Myres, all from Montrose, also deny the charge.

The court was shown messages sent between the accused men after the pay out in which they celebrated by saying: "I'm rich. Welcome to candyland."

'I felt pressured'
Det Supt Brian Bennie told the court Hester had immediately confessed his involvement during an early morning raid and led them to a bag with £2,400 cash in his bedroom.

He said he earned less than £1,000 per month as a footballer, but also made £1,300 as an electrician and £300 per month as a retained firefighter.

Hester told police he had recently taken out a mortgage and had been told he was going to lose his electrician job.

He said Calvin Parrott and Brodie Myres had told him they were going to place a bet on him.

He said Parrott had said "something along the lines of "please, please, please get booked"" because the odds were high.

Hester said he believed he was given £2,000 for getting booked and also got £400 back that he had previously loaned Parrott.

He told police: "I know they put a bit of money on it. I don't know how much.

"I wouldn't say I felt threatened - because they are friends - but I felt pressured."

Hester said Parrott messaged him an hour before kick-off to remind him what he needed to do during the match.

The trial was shown hundreds of messages between the parties which referred to Hester agreeing to get a yellow card during the match.

The charge alleges the four men received £17,333.32 in payments from Bet365 in 2019, and that £13,583.32 of it was obtained as unlawful winnings.

An alternate version of the charge alleges they cheated at gambling by placing five bets on Mr Hester being booked and that he was shown a yellow card for a foul, leading to them falsely obtaining £13,583.32 in winnings.

The trial, before Sheriff Paul Brown, continues.

[Deleted]

Found not guilty.

[Roy of the Rovers]

Incredibly yea although the old “not proven” verdict I see.

Now the football authorities can give him a substantial playing ban.

[teekasule]

Mar 10, 2023 16:10:27 GMT jimbo42 said:

Found not guilty.

ha ha worlds gone mad . he admitted it ! 

[chris]

This is absolutely rediculos, must have had OJ's lawyer

[Roy of the Rovers]

As Victor Meldrew would say I don't believe it!

From the BBC website:

But the jury accepted Mr Hester's claim during the trial, that he got caught up in the moment during the match and forgot about any agreement to deliberately get booked.