Friday, December 6, 2024
12.4 C
Los Angeles

FATF Monitoring: Countries Addressing Strategic Deficiencies

Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring by the FATF Countries...

Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Sentenced to 20+ Years in Odebrecht Bribery Scandal

Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has been...

Ex-Mexican Security Chief Sentenced for Bribery and Aiding Sinaloa Cartel’s Drug Trafficking

Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexico's former Secretary of...

Superseding Indictment Issued Against Ohio Man for Illegal Gambling, Tax Evasion, and Money Laundering

Fraud, Bribery & CorruptionSuperseding Indictment Issued Against Ohio Man for Illegal Gambling, Tax Evasion, and Money Laundering

A federal grand jury in Cleveland has issued a superseding indictment against Steven Saris of Canton, Ohio, charging him with various offenses related to illegal gambling businesses (IGBs), tax evasion, conspiracy, employment tax fraud, money laundering, and obstruction-related actions. Saris had previously been indicted for owning and operating an IGB.

According to the superseding indictment, Saris allegedly operated multiple IGBs in Ohio from 2012 to 2022, including Café 62, Lucky’s, Winner’s World, Spin City, and one located in Springfield, Ohio. He purportedly concealed his involvement by using nominee owners for these businesses. Saris is accused of not filing personal income tax returns with the IRS for the years 2016 through 2021, despite allegedly receiving over $4 million in income from the IGBs. To further conceal his role and income, he allegedly destroyed business records associated with each IGB and paid employees in cash without accounting for or remitting employment taxes.

The indictment also alleges that Saris misled investigators about his ownership of Winner’s World and attempted to hinder them from locating his cell phone during a search warrant execution by concealing it inside a toilet’s water tank.

If convicted, Saris could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion, illegal gambling business, conspiracy, employment tax fraud, and destruction and removal of property to prevent seizure. He could face up to ten years in prison for each money laundering count. Sentencing, if applicable, will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Stark County, Ohio, Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, Major Crimes Task Force. The prosecution is led by Trial Attorney Sam Bean of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Howell for the Northern District of Ohio.

By FCCT Editorial Team

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are independent views solely of the author(s) expressed in their private capacity.

Check out our other content

Ad


Check out other tags:

Most Popular Articles