This Monday brought us the news that Sanders Bruce Segal is facing 37 months in jail after pleading guilty to charges of participating in an international racketeering conspiracy that used a San Diego card room as a cover for illegal sports bookmaking and related criminal activity. In addition to his 37-month custody term, the offender must also ante up $222,840 in criminal forfeiture. The fine represents direct proceeds of his participation in the offense.
Last summer, Sanders Bruce Segal and his son, Sydney Bruce Segal, each pleaded guilty today to engaging in a racketeering conspiracy that operated for years out of the Lucky Lady Casino and Card Room and other locations in San Diego. The two men admitted that they took part in unlawful activities such as bookmaking, transmitting wagering information, money laundering and collecting unlawful debts.
In his plea agreement, Sanders Segal admitted that he was the main person behind Segalās Lucky Lady Sports Book and he used his leading position to direct the other accomplices to use offshore gambling websites to place illegal sports bets on behalf of U.S. customers. Sanders Segal even specified that on 2nd April 2015 he met co-defendant David Greg Leppo to give Leppo his share from the illegal gambling proceeds.
Sydney Bruce Segal, on the other hand, admitted his role in the enterprise as a bookkeeper for Segalās Lucky Lady Sports Book. He explained that cash from the Lucky Lady Casino and Card Roomās lawful gambling operations was held alongside proceeds of unlawful sports betting coordinated by Segalās Lucky Lady Sports Book.
The Truth Behind the Illegal Sports Betting Ring
Segal and his accomplices also coordinated unlawful collection of the illegal wagers, which was usually processed in cash. Swedish businessman Petter Magnus Karlsson also pleaded guilty to participating in the international racketeering conspiracy.
Twelve people pleaded guilty to federal charges as a result of the investigation that was launched in 2014. In fact, Lucky Lady Casino and Card Room is a licensed gambling establishment. But from 2013 to 2016, Sanders Segal used it to cover his illegal bookmaking operations.
The authorities concluded that Segalās Lucky Lady Sports Book connected bookies with offshore online sports betting sites, some of them operated by the defendants. The trial for both David Greg Leppo and Stanley Samuel Penn is set to take place sometime next month.
It is interesting to note that the California authorities busted the owner of San Diegoās Lucky Lady Casino & Card Room and his illicit activities as part of a series of investigations into Californiaās non-tribal gaming industry. Three other gambling facilities were also fined for financial violations and money laundering lapses.
