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One of the seven defendants charged in an alleged multi-million dollar illegal gambling ring has agreed to a plea deal.
The defendant in question, Carol Cote, has agreed to plead guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering charges in a deal made with prosecutors involved in the case involving suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez. The details of the deal have not yet been made public.
Cote is a Marion County resident who was named as a co-defendant in the racketeering case. She is due to be sentenced on October 13 in Lake County. A racketeering conviction in Florida is considered a first-degree felony, with a potential penalty of up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. However, a plea deal may have negotiated a more lenient sentence for Cote.
The Sheriff Marcos Lopez racketeering case continues
The illegal gambling operation is alleged to have made more than $21 million, with Cote among seven people accused of helping or managing the operation. Authorities claim that Lopez used the illicit money to fund his election campaign to become sheriff, and then continued the ring while serving as sheriff.
Lopez would then allegedly go on to use his influence within the community to protect the club from legal scrutiny, as well as secure assets like leases and cash payments.
He was arrested on June 5 and is set to stand trial on October 20, also in Lake County. Cote is believed to have acted as the bookkeeper for the organization, making her responsible for managing the group’s financial records. Her guilty plea deal is the first conviction for the seven defendants. The charges faced by the group as a whole include racketeering, like Cote, as well as various alleged conspiracy charges.
Featured image: Osceola County Sheriff
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The Singapore Police Force (SPF) arrested seven men under suspicion of conducting an international illegal online gambling operation.
The operation took place on October 5, leading to the arrest of seven men aged between 28 and 53 years old. The SPF collaborated with the FBI and Meta to gather evidence supporting the arrests.
Back in March 2023, the SPF first received reports of victims being convinced to open accounts with an online gambling website and buy gambling credits by transferring money onto the site. Although the victims would at first be able to successfully redeem their winnings from games, continuing to gamble would spark a choice between winning more money or purchasing more credits.
Several victims of the scheme lost more than S$175,000 (around $135,000). Early investigation from the SPF led the authorities to believe that an international group was behind the illegal gambling ring, targeting victims across Asia, not just in Singapore.
At this point, the SPF began collating information from the FBI and Meta about the alleged gambling activities. Further probes led to the arrest of the group members, with officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Police Intelligence Department mounting simultaneous raids at multiple locations across Singapore.
As well as the arrests of seven men, cash, 15 bank accounts, and a luxury watch were seized, with a total estimated value exceeding S$500,000 ($386,000) were seized. Electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones, and SIM cards were also seized by the police.
What’s next for the alleged illegal online gambling ring?
Four of the men will be charged in court on October 6, while police investigations are still ongoing against the remaining three men. The potential punishments for the charges levelled against the men include financial fines of up to S$500,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
“The Singapore Police Force takes a serious view against all forms of illegal betting activities and will continue to take tough enforcement action and prosecute those involved to the fullest extent of the law, wherever they choose to operate,” said Deputy Director of CID, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SAC) Yeo Yee Chuan. “To counter transnational organised crime, the SPF will work closely with foreign counterparts to detect and deter these syndicates. Members of the public are advised to steer clear of all forms of illegal gambling.”
Featured image: Singapore Police Force
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