Latest news with #SweepsCoach
Yahoo
4 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.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
El Dorado Hills residents admit to operating illegal gambling business at internet cafes
( — A Utah man and two El Dorado Hills residents pleaded guilty to operating illegal gambling operations at several locations across the United States, including in California, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Video Above: Lottery odds: What's more likely to happen than you winning? According to the DOJ, James Mecham, 57, of Orem, Utah; Kurt Stocks, 49, of El Dorado Hills; and Heidi Edwards, 58, of El Dorado Hills, helped set up gambling portals at various internet cafes for their business SweepsCoach. The games allowed users to play 'slot machine-style' games with the potential to win credits that could be redeemed for money. Cafes then deposited proceeds into a bank account controlled by the defendants. Between 2012 and 2017, roughly $14 million, $11 million of which were from operations in California and Arizona, were deposited into the defendants' accounts, the department said. The three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in October and face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
