CLeveland County, NC – Two Cleveland County men have pled guilty to felonies charged in a federal indictment relating to the operation of an illegal gambling business involving video poker machines, and perjury before the grand jury investigating that operation.
On February 22, 2007, HICKS HELTON of Mooresboro pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Asheville to one count of conducting an illegal gambling business. On February 26, 2007, ROBIN BRIAN FRADY pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Asheville to one count of grand jury perjury. The count to which HELTON pled guilty charged him with operating the gambling business from on or before September 1, 2000, and continuing to the present, in Cleveland County in Western North Carolina. As part of the plea agreement, HELTON also consented to the forfeiture of $389,633 in cash and a house and land in Mooresboro, North Carolina, which were proceeds of criminal conduct and were used to facilitate the criminal conduct.
The guilty pleas are announced by Gretchen C.F. Shappert, United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Nathaniel Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI for North Carolina, Cleveland County Sheriff Raymond Hamrick, and Director Robin Pendergraft of the State Bureau of Investigation.
"Today we are announcing guilty pleas regarding a continuing illegal video poker machine gambling operation. According to the allegations contained in the bill of indictment, HELTON was responsible for placing and operating video poker machines in Cleveland County and elsewhere, and violated the law by making illegal cash payouts to persons who won while playing on these machines. Under North Carolina law, any cash payout is illegal, and no one may receive more than a $10 merchandise credit or prize. Under federal law, any illegal gambling business which violates the laws of the state, involves five or more participants, and either grosses more than $ 2,000 in a single day or remains in substantially continuous operation for more than 30 days is a federal felony. FRADY testified falsely under oath before the grand jury, claiming that he was unaware of any such cash payouts and denying that he had participated in delivering money to store owners for purposes of their making such payouts." said U.S. Attorney Shappert, chief law enforcement officer over all Western N.C. counties.
These guilty pleas are the result of an investigation that began more than two years ago, and the investigation into illegal video poker gambling operations in Western North Carolina is continuing. Each of the defendants faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The defendants' individual sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including each defendant's prior criminal record, if any, each defendant's role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. As to all defendants, no sentence will exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation and prosecution are being handled for the government by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Edwards.
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