Two Ohio Men Receive Prison Sentences for Illegal Gambling and Tax Fraud

Two men from Ohio have been sentenced to prison after running an illegal gambling operation for years and hiding millions in taxes. The operation was running for approximately 10 years, accumulating millions in profits.

The two man in question are Christos Karasarides Jr, 59, of Canton, and Ronald DiPietro, 65, of Clinton. The two men were sentenced to prison for tax, gambling, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction crimes.

From 2009 through July 2018, the two men operated illegal gambling businesses such as Skilled Shamrock and Redemption. The former venue offered slot machines where patrons gambled more than $34 million between 2012 and 2017 alone. It is estimated that the property brought in more than $7 million in profits.

According to the Office of Public Affairs, the two men sought to conceal their ownership of the businesses in question by using nominee owners and sham contracts. They also failed to report millions of dollars in taxes from the businesses.

To make matters worse, Karasarides hid millions of dollars in taxes from another gambling business. He was assisted by DiPietro who helped him make false representations to the IRS. Additional evidence shows that Karasarides further thwarted the IRS’s efforts by using a straw purchaser to disguise ownership of his home.

Collectively, the two men caused the IRS a tax loss of over $10 million. In addition, the two men actively obstructed the investigation and even asked a witness to lie to authorities.

The Illegal Operations Allowed the Men to Live in Luxury  

As for the money, Karasarides and DiPietro used the proceeds from their illegal schemes to fuel luxurious lifestyles, purchase expensive cars, maintain country club memberships and trade property. The two men also kept large amounts of cash and silver at properties they owned.

On several occasions, Karasarides went on lucrative gambling trips across the US, making millions of dollars of bets at legal casinos.

According to the Office of Public Affairs, Karasarides will serve 262 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In addition, he will have to pay over $5.5 million in restitution to the US and forfeit his residence and almost $420,000 in cash.

Ronald DiPietro, on the other hand, was sentenced to 112 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Furthermore, the 65-year-old will have to pay $4.8 million in restitution to the United States.