Date: Jan. 29, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov On Friday, a federal jury convicted two Ohio men of tax, gambling, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction crimes related to their operation of illegal gambling businesses in Canton and their scheme to conceal the illicit proceeds from those businesses to avoid paying taxes. Two others involved in the conspiracy pleaded guilty. Convictions According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2009 and 2018, Christos Karasarides Jr. and Ronald DiPietro, together with others, operated multiple illegal gambling businesses, including Skilled Shamrock, as part of an organized criminal operation. At Skilled Shamrock, which primarily operated slot machines, patrons gambled more than $34 million between 2012 and 2017, with Skilled Shamrock’s owners retaining more than $7 million. Karasarides and DiPietro sought to conceal their ownership of the gambling businesses through the use of nominee owners and sham contracts. Karasarides owed the IRS more than $2 million in taxes on income he earned gambling and from other businesses he ran, which the IRS was trying to collect. DiPietro, who was also a Certified Public Accountant, assisted Karasarides in thwarting the IRS’s collection efforts by falsely representing to the IRS, including by preparing tax returns for Karasarides, that Karasarides did not have the assets or income to pay his taxes. Evidence at trial also showed that Karasarides conspired to launder money from his gambling businesses to make it more difficult for the IRS to seize his home by using a straw purchaser to disguise his ownership of it. Karasarides and DiPietro used the proceeds of their schemes to purchase luxury vehicles and buy and sell property. Karasarides also took several extravagant gambling trips, making millions of dollars of bets at legal casinos throughout the country. They also kept thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash or silver at their homes and other properties they controlled. For instance, law enforcement seized more than $150,000 in cash from Karasarides’ house. Sentencing for both men is scheduled for May 1 before U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent for the Northern District of Ohio. Karasarides faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, five years in prison for tax evasion, five years in prison for each count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, five years in prison for each count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, five years in prison for falsification of records, three years in prison for each count of operating an illegal gambling business, three years in prison for witness tampering and three years in prison for filing false income tax returns. DiPietro faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, three years in prison for operating an illegal gambling business, five years in prison for tax evasion and three years in prison for each count of preparing false income tax returns. Pleas Just prior to the trial, Thomas Helmick, who served as a nominee owner of one of Karasarides’ illegal gambling businesses, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Helmick is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent on May 2. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. During the course of the trial, Christopher Karasarides, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by executing false documents and acting as a nominee owner for some of Christos Karasarides’ assets. Christopher Karasarides is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent on April 30. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence of each defendant after considering 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. IRS Criminal Investigation; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Inspector General; the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office; the Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission-Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Sam Bean and Hayter Whitman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Howell for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.
