A recently unsealed eight-count federal indictment in Southern District of Ohio Court also names Walter F. Dyer, Michael E. Gedeon, Jason S. Pulaski, Douglas A. Sanders and Jennifer Williams as defendants, according to a U.S. Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service press release.
All six were charged with one count each of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count each of operating an illegal gambling business. Powers also was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the IRS and one count of witness tampering. Dyer, Gedeon, Pulaski and Williams also were charged with obstruction of justice.
If convicted, Powers could face a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Pulaski, Gedeon, Williams and Dyer could each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. Sanders could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
The 25-page indictment says that Powers, the co-owner of R&J Partnership Ltd., oversaw the recruitment of local charitable organizations to sponsor casino games such as Texas Hold’Em poker tournaments that were exempt from the general prohibition against games of chance under then-existing Ohio laws from February 2004 to May 2011.
Powers allegedly skimmed a portion of the money received and provided false accounting of the money generated to the charitable organizations. The other employees, who worked as card dealers, cashiers, chip sellers, pit bosses, tournament directors and managers, received compensation for their roles in violation of Ohio law, at Powers’ direction. The indictment said each defendant claimed they were uncompensated volunteers and that several of them deliberately misled investigators from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the IRS.
The indictment said that cash payments to co-conspirators were “given in envelopes, occasionally designated with coded numbers corresponding to particular individuals.”
Another allegation is that Powers conspired to sell RLVS and its associated real estate so it appeared it was sold for less than its actual sale price in an effort by Powers to evade tax payments. The indictment said an IRS undercover agent negotiated with Powers and his associates about buying the business but hiding the real price in documentation in order to avoid taxes.
The employees are alleged to have committed obstruction of justice by falsely testifying before a federal grand jury about the poker scheme.
District Judge Timothy S. Black will oversee the case that was investigated by IRS special agents and will be prosecuted by Jorge Almonte and Stephen Descano of the Justice Dept.’s Tax Division.
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