Latest news with #HeidiEdwards
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
3 behind El Dorado Hills-based gambling operation plead guilty in federal court
Three people, including two from the capital region, pleaded guilty in connection with an illicit gambling business, prosecutors announced Tuesday. 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.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
California-based gaming company operated as illegal gambling business, prosecutors say
Three people who California prosecutors say operated an illegal gambling business online have pleaded guilty in the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California and Arizona announced a plea deal Tuesday against SweepsCoach business operators James Mecham, Kurt Stocks and Heidi Edwards. As detailed by prosecutors, the El Dorado Hills-based SweepsCoach business helped set up gaming terminals at internet cafes across Arizona and California. The games played like video slot machines, with players buying credits to play for the chance of possibly winning more credits. The credits could then be exchanged for money at the cafes. Investigators conducted undercover surveillance at the cafes while they were in operation, confirming that SweepsCoach games were being played. In total, investigators found that Mecham, Stocks and Edwards had accumulated $14 million from their illegal gambling games from 2012-2017. Tuesday's plea deal comes after a joint investigation by the IRS, FBI, California Franchise Tax Board, and California Department of Justice Bureau of Gambling Control along with the U.S. Attorney's Office. Mecham, Stocks and Edwards aren't scheduled to be sentenced in the case until October. They all face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine each.
