U.S. Department
of Justice
Ohio Gambling Business Owner Sentenced for Tax Fraud Conspiracy
An Ohio woman was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the IRS relating to her ownership and operation of illegal gambling businesses in Canton, Ohio.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2010 through 2018, Rebecca Kachner, along with other coconspirators, owned and operated two illegal gambling businesses, Skilled Shamrock and Redemption Skill Games 777. Kachner conspired with her husband and the other owners to defraud the IRS by filing false tax returns that omitted most of the income they received from their illegal gambling operation and by using a nominee owner to conceal their ownership of the businesses.
From 2012 through 2017, patrons of Skilled Shamrock wagered a total of more than $34 million, which resulted in more than $4 million in income to the owners. In total, Kachner and her husband received more than $2.3 million from the illegal gambling businesses. They did not report most of this income on their annual tax returns during these years. Investigators also recovered approximately $241,000 of illegal gambling proceeds in cash from a storage locker Kachner admitted to renting.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ordered the defendant to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay $1,184,668 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission investigated the case. U.S. Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance.
Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Sam Bean of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Patton and David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.