3 behind El Dorado Hills-based gambling operation plead guilty in federal court
Kurt Stocks, 49, and Heidi Edwards, 58, of El Dorado Hills — as well as James Mecham, 57, of Orem, Utah — had raked in about $14 million between 2012 and 2017 through a business operation called SweepsCoach. The managers through a series of firms 'engaged in and facilitated illegal gambling' featuring 'slot machine-style games' at internet cafes in California and Arizona, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento.
The businesses included such names as Abnom, Stuff About Games and Burkiworks — all based in El Dorado Hills, prosecutors said in the plea deal.
Prosecutors said the defendants had marketed gaming operations in the two states and helped internet cafes set and maintain terminals that operated the games, which could be played for credits. The credits could be exchanged for money, making them illegal, authorities said.
'Undercover law enforcement operations at several internet cafes in California and Arizona confirmed the use and conduct of SweepsCoach games,' the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The IRS, the FBI, the California Bureau of Gambling Control and the state Franchise Tax Board all participated in the investigation.
The trio was indicted in July 2022 with operating an illegal gambling business and nine other counts related to money laundering. Under the deal announced Tuesday, they pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business; the money laundering counts were dismissed.
'We felt we received a fair resolution from the U.S. Attorney's Office,' said Thomas Johnson, a Sacramento-based attorney who represented Mecham.
The trio, who face a maximum of five years in prison, were expected to be sentenced Oct. 21.
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