A federal grand jury in Cleveland has issued a superseding indictment against Steven Saris of Canton, Ohio, charging him with various offenses related to illegal gambling businesses (IGBs), tax evasion, conspiracy, employment tax fraud, money laundering, and obstruction-related actions. Saris had previously been indicted for owning and operating an IGB.
According to the superseding indictment, Saris allegedly operated multiple IGBs in Ohio from 2012 to 2022, including Café 62, Lucky’s, Winner’s World, Spin City, and one located in Springfield, Ohio. He purportedly concealed his involvement by using nominee owners for these businesses. Saris is accused of not filing personal income tax returns with the IRS for the years 2016 through 2021, despite allegedly receiving over $4 million in income from the IGBs. To further conceal his role and income, he allegedly destroyed business records associated with each IGB and paid employees in cash without accounting for or remitting employment taxes.
The indictment also alleges that Saris misled investigators about his ownership of Winner’s World and attempted to hinder them from locating his cell phone during a search warrant execution by concealing it inside a toilet’s water tank.
If convicted, Saris could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion, illegal gambling business, conspiracy, employment tax fraud, and destruction and removal of property to prevent seizure. He could face up to ten years in prison for each money laundering count. Sentencing, if applicable, will be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Stark County, Ohio, Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, Major Crimes Task Force. The prosecution is led by Trial Attorney Sam Bean of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Howell for the Northern District of Ohio.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}