A recent Texas operation, known as Double Down, has resulted in the arrests of 16 individuals and the seizing of $16 million in currency, accounts and assets. Those arrested are facing multiple charges including operating illegal games rooms, conspiracy, money laundering and bribery.
These charges arise, in part, due to the strict legislation placed on gambling in Texas. As it stands, almost all forms of gambling are prohibited in the country, and there exist only three casinos that operate on Native American Land and are therefore able to run.
Although the legalization of online gambling in Texas may seem like a far-off dream, individuals are fighting to relax the regulations, and one day, Texas may follow in the footsteps of other states that have legalized gambling for the first time. If this were to occur, then Texas residents could enjoy the huge variety of entertainment that comes with online Inclave casinos and do so with the peace of mind that their information was kept secure (source: https://www.techopedia.com/casino/inclave-casinos).
Operation Double Down was one of the largest operations in the Southern District of Texas as the conspiracy these individuals are accused of has generated more than $22 million. The success of the operation was due to the banding together of 700 law enforcement officers across 18 different agencies. They enacted a total of 45 search warrants and 40 seizure warrants at various locations across the Houston area. Through this, a total of 30 illegal game rooms were raided.
During the operation, a number of items owned illegally were seized. These included over $4.5 million in cash, $5 million in vehicles and property, 2,000 slot machines, 100 Rolex watches, 8 separate firearms and approximately $6.5 million from bank accounts and other financial institutions.
On top of the sixteen individuals who have been arrested, a further two have been declared fugitives with outstanding arrest warrants. Those who have been arrested have been charged with “conspiracy, operating an illegal gambling business and interstate travel in aid of racketeering” with each charge carrying a prison sentence of up to five years. Additionally, they have all been indicted on conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
One individual faces even more charges and has been indicted on 32 counts of federal program bribery after having supposedly paid over $500,000 to an undercover police officer in the hope that doing so would prevent legal action. Each charge that he is found guilty of could result in an additional prison sentence of up to five years.
Charges for money laundering have a max of $500,000 and the other charges stated come with a max fine of $250,000.
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