Florida Police Busts Large Illegal Gambling and Money Laundering Ring

The Palms Beach County Sherrif’s Office has been busy with the state of Florida conducting a number of high-profile operations against illegal gambling rings and money-laundering networks.

Florida’s Police on the Trail of Illegal Gambling Businesses

According to an official police statement, multiple arrests were conducted with suspects and people involved in the organizations now in police custody as authorized by nine search warrants and five arrest warrants.

Two of the suspects, Ritesh Patel, 33, and Nova Revez Roffey, 41, were arrested in Palm Beach County. They were charged with conspiracy of money laundering, running a gambling venue, operating an unlawful lottery, and unlawful possession of slot machines.

The operation had gone even further, having targeted two Miami-based businessmen who were said to have been supplying the venues with the machines.

Eric David Silverstein and Justin Earl Silverstein, whose age was not specified in the reports, were arrested in Miami-Dade. They are said to have provided the businesses with the gambling machines and most likely knew that they were used illegally.  

“Operations Fools Treasure” as the probe was dubbed, is another elaborate move against illegal underground networks in the state of Florida that have focused on the state of Florida.

Investigators were able to discover large amounts of cash deposited into bank accounts, a total exceeding $763,000 between October 20, 2202, through October 19, 2023.

The operation was originally launched by the Money Laundering Unit in the Narcotics Division with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Back in 2022, a unit was put together to investigate a network of illegal gambling venues that offered Las Vegas-style video slot machines, the police said in an official press statement.

Latest Bust Follows a Similar Enforcement Action in Early January

Four locations were investigated and eventually raided, including Vero Beach, Zephyrhills, Fort Pierce, and West Palm Beach as they were connected to the illicit activity investigated by the Sherrif’s Office.

Officials have clarified that more arrests are in the process of being carried out as police mobilize to bring all of those accountable to justice.

This is not the first time Florida’s police officers have mobilized their resources for the public good. One such illegal gambling ring was busted by a police officer recently just outside Orlando as reported earlier this month.