Two men from Waynesboro, Ga. and another man from Greenwood, S.C., have confessed to federal charges for taking part in an illegal gambling operation.
Daniel Cates, 50, and Gary Brandon Mobley, 44, both from Waynesboro, Ga., and Joel Rees, 59, from Greenwood, S.C., were charged with prohibition of an illegal gambling business, said David H. Estes, the acting U.S Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Mobley pled guilty to fraud and false statements as well.
Mobley will face a negotiated sentence of 12 months plus one day in federal prison. He has had to forfeit $340,084. This is all following a plea agreement. Mobley has also agreed to pay $207,716 in restitution to the Georgia Department of Revenue and the IRS, and pay a fine of $2,000. Cates has agreed to forfeit $100,000.
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The three men have been released on bond pending sentencing and formal acceptance of the plea agreement at a later date, after having their plea hearings before U.S District Court Chief Judge J. Randall Hall.
Mobley was a “bookie” for an illegal sports betting operation. This operation has lasted ten years in Burke County. He first began collecting bets and paying all the winners himself. He then started doing this through a sports betting website operated in Costa Rica.
Mobley and Jones began working together in 2015. Mobley took his profits and began splitting them with Jones, who had a smaller gambling ring. During 2015 and 2017, Mobley used his parent’s check-cashing business to cash bettor’s checks.
The company was Mobley Package Shop in Girard, Ga. Due to the growing influx of cash, he was gaining, Mobley reached out to Cates, who had his own gambling experience. Cates had obtained a sum of $250,000 through his gambling endeavors. The two reached an agreement that Cates would receive money and favors from Mobley.
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“These men participated in an illegal gambling operation for at least a decade in the Waynesboro area, eventually funneling business through a foreign-based website,” said Estes. “But even that offshore venture wouldn’t keep them out of the reach of diligent law enforcement professionals who turned the tables on this illicit operation.”
Mobley has confessed to filing false information on his income tax returns. He lied to hide the amount of money he was receiving from his illegal gambling operation.
“No matter how hard these defendants tried to hide their illegal operation, their greed ultimately caught up with them,” said Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta. “FBI agents will pursue criminal activity that violates our Constitution, no matter where an investigation takes them, and along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office will hold them accountable.”
“Schemes concealing funds in order to evade income tax, such as those utilized by Mobley, are unfair to every taxpayer who obeys the law and pays their fair share,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “The public should know that IRS-Criminal Investigation will do everything we can to hold individuals accountable for their actions.”
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