Ohio Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Gambling, Tax Evasion

A man who pleaded guilty to tax evasion, money laundering and operating illegal gambling businesses earlier this year was recently sentenced to seven years in prison.

The Prison Sentence Was Accompanied by Supervised Release and Restitution

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Public Affairs confirmed Thursday that the case in question involved Steven Saris, a 49-year-old man from Stark County, Ohio. Initially, the man faced nearly three dozen charges for his crimes.

However, in May this year, Saris entered into a guilty plea, admitting to tax evasion, two counts of money laundering related to the operation of an illegal gambling business in Ohio, as well as operating an illegal gambling business.

The announcement about Saris’ sentencing came from Stuart Goldberg, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General with the DOJ’s Tax Division, as well as US Attorney Rebecca Lutzko. US District Judge Donald Nugent for the Northern District of Ohio sentenced Saris to a total of seven years in prison for his crimes.

Besides the prison sentence, Judge Nugent sentenced the 49-year-old man to three years of supervised release. The Stark County man was also ordered by the court to pay $2.823,391 in restitution to the United States, a sum that matches exactly the tax losses to the IRS which came as a result of Saris’ actions.

The latest sentencing follows a multi-agency investigation that involved the Stark County’s Prosecutor’s Office, the IRS, Homeland Security Investigations and other agencies that helped with the criminal case.

The Illegal Gambling Scheme Involved Many Locations

Per court documents, Saris engaged in unlawful gambling for more than a decade between 2009 and 2022. During that time, he not only owned but operated illegal gambling businesses around Northeast Ohio, as announced by the DOJ.

The list of venues included Spin City, Winner’s World, Cafe 62 and Lucky’s among other establishments in Springfield, Ohio, as well as across state lines in Florida. In an effort to conceal his involvement in the businesses, Saris used the services of “nominee owners” and also encouraged them and engaged himself in the destruction of business records.

According to prosecutors, in 2015, the man filed a false tax return document after failing to report more than $1.4 million in income from operating illegal gambling. Between 2016 and 2021, the man earned more than $9 million but did not file tax returns or failed to pay all taxes owed.

Concerningly, the 49-year-old man used millions to gamble at legal casinos and also purchased a couple of properties in Canton, Ohio. The DOJ statement did not disclose the names of the casinos where Saris spent millions of his ill-gained funds.