The tragic story of 5Dimes Tony hit the news headlines nearly one year ago. The owner of the 5Dimes, born William Sean Creighton, online sportsbook disappeared more than one year ago, and his car was found abandoned in Costa Rica.
Authorities made a number of arrests months later, but there was always a mystery surrounding the disappearance since no body was ever found.
The United States citizen’s body has since been found, according to the US State Department.
The discovery may end some speculation in the case but prompt more questions than answers. The Costa Rican government has not released information about the suspects taken into custody earlier this year in Spain and Costa Rica.
Who was 5Dimes Tony?
Creighton was born and raised in America – in West Virginia. He eventually attended and graduated from West Virginia University in 1998 with a business administration degree.
In the early 2000s, Creighton moved to San Pedro, Costa Rica. As the online betting market began to boom, Creighton launched a website called 5Dimes. It offered online poker, a game that was seeing a dramatic rise in popularity, and an online sportsbook.
He came to be known as 5Dimes Tony, respected in the industry for building his company from scratch and handling all duties as the company’s CEO. With reduced juice and lucrative promotions, 5Dimes became a trusted site for online wagering.
Initial Reports of a Crime
On October 16, 2018, the reports of a missing person surfaced. But the disappearance happened nearly a month prior.
On September 24, Creighton left his office in his vehicle, a Porsche Cayenne. He gave a coworker a ride to the Curridbat area, dropped him off, and left. He had not been seen since. His wife reported him missing the following day.
The Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) confirmed that he disappeared, as his car was found, but Creighton was missing. The OIJ didn’t say much beyond that report, but some were saying Creighton had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom.
Several days later, the OIJ confirmed that the Porsche was found crashed in the Heredia area.
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Costa Rican media outlets reported that Creighton’s wife had been working with two male “American investigators” and had paid a ransom to the kidnappers of nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency.
Later, however, the OIJ did release information confirming that Creighton was driving in the Curridabat neighborhood around 10pm on that September 24 night. Reportedly, two Costa Rican traffic officers pulled him over for a violation, at which time, four men in a gray pickup truck arrived and abducted him.
The OIJ confirmed that Creighton’s wife received a demand for $5 million in ransom, and paid $1 million of that in bitcoin but heard nothing further from the alleged kidnappers.
Remains Discovered
Last week, the OIJ did announced that they found Creighton’s body. The 43-year-old had been left in a cemetery in a small fishing town called Quepos, which was approximately three hours from the abduction site by car. The remains were confirmed as belonging to Creighton. However, a cause of death has yet to be determined.
ESPN obtained a statement from the US State Department about the discovery. “We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
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Arrests Made in January
Authorities announced in January 2019, just a few months after Creighton’s abduction, that 12 people were arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping.
The story they told started with the ransom demand and the subsequent payment made by Creighton’s family. When the kidnappers received the money, they stopped communicating with the family.
Costa Rican authorities raided a house in Costa Rica in January and arrested nine suspects.
Three other suspects fled to Cuba, and the authorities who had been tracking the men said the three then traveled from Cuba to Spain by airplane, landing at the Madrid-Barajas airport. Cuban authorities notified the Spanish Civil Guard, who found the trio renting a house in Zaragoza and arrested them there.
Those people were 25-year-old Jordan Morales Vega, who reportedly masterminded the abduction, his mother Guiselle Vega Aguirre, and his companion/wife Maria Fernanda Solis Chaves. They were extradited back to Costa Rica in April.
The three suspects extradited from Spain are awaiting trial for extortive kidnapping, but it is unclear if the other nine suspects are still in custody.
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Two of those nine were related to Morales Vega, his 71-year-old grandmother Aguirre Leal and uncle Vega Aguirre. The other people arrested ranged from 34-year-old Medrano Vargas to 64-year-old Rivera Masis, including Sanabria Martinez, Martinez Chacon, Sanchz Gamboa, Ford Dowdon, and Jiron Lopez.
Business as Usual
While reports swirled about 5Dimes Tony last year, the betting site issued a statement that the company was operating as usual “despite recent news.”
The company seemed to indicate that business would not be interrupted for its customers, “always aiming to innovate in the industry with more and better betting options to choose from.”
The statement did send thoughts and prayers for Tony’s safe return to his family.
Since the discovery of Creighton’s body this month, 5Dimes has issued no statement whatsoever.
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