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US Judge Sherri Lydon has sentenced a video poker magnate to six months in prison for the felony of conspiracy to engage in an illegal gambling enterprise from a suburb of South Carolina’s state capital.
In court Monday, Federick “Fred” McCary, 68, also agreed to forfeit $1m.
According to the federal prosecutor’s findings, “McCary was the leader of a relatively large-scale gambling organization” in Lexington County involving multiple illegal video poker machines.
undercover operation in which a plainclothes agent provided evidence of McCary’s illegal business
A tip-off that people were gambling and losing cash at the property led to an undercover operation in which a plainclothes agent provided evidence of McCary’s illegal business by playing some of the video gambling terminals (VGTs) in April and June 2023.
According to an indictment, the illicit machines on McCary’s property included over 25 Pot O’ Gold slots, and VGTs capable of playing Joker Poker, Jacks or Better, Keno, Deuces Wild, and Shamrock Ts, a video game favored in the south and similar to mobile casino games such as Shamrock Lock.
According to The State, McCary’s VGT operation could generate up to $100,000 per week, was open from 11am to 2am daily, and required two shifts of workers to operate.
In their appeal for a non-prison sentence for their client, McCary’s defense lawyers said there was no evidence his gambling operation was linked to “organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering or other … offenses that often accompany illegal gambling.”
“This was essentially a local business operation, not a sophisticated criminal enterprise.” Prosecutors wanted McCary to get at least 12 months of a possible maximum five years in prison.
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