Feds reveal indictment against fifth defendant in skill game parlor case

Federal prosecutors Friday unveiled a superseding indictment that accuses a Hills and Dales man as being another operator of local skill game parlors.

Christos Karasarides Jr. is charged with tax evasion, money laundering and witness tampering. Authorities accused him of conspiring to conceal income generated by an illegal gaming business.

He made a remote initial court appearance by video Friday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland before Magistrate Judge Jonathan D. Greenberg, according to a statement released by the U.S. Justice Department and a spokesman for IRS Criminal investigation.

Karasarides' Cleveland-based attorney Michael J. Goldberg said Tuesday, "we've entered a not-guilty plea. We plan on vigorously defending this indictment. We're looking forward to our day in court when we have just not what people are saying to agents or U.S. attorneys but actual evidence. And we're confident they'll be a much different picture at that point."

Goldberg said federal agents arrested his client at his home Thursday morning and brought him to the U.S. Marshals office in Akron for booking and the remote video court appearance. He was released on unsecured bond of $20,000 within a couple of hours. Goldberg said his client would have voluntarily made the appearance, if requested.

While Karasarides is listed in voter registration records as being a resident of Hills and Dales, Goldberg declined to say where he now is living.

Four co-defendants, all stated as living in the Canton area, were indicted on some of the same charges as Karasarides in May 2021. They are Jason Kachner, his wife Rebecca Kachner, Ronald DiPietro and Thomas Helmick.

Skill game owners face charges: Former Stark County skill game parlor operators facing federal indictment

A trial is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 19 before U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent in Cleveland. But Goldberg said he would be surprised if the court doesn't postpone the trial date to give him sufficient time to prepare Karasarides' defense.

The former location of Redemption Skill Games 777 remains empty at 2824 Whipple Avenue in Plain Township.
The former location of Redemption Skill Games 777 remains empty at 2824 Whipple Avenue in Plain Township.

Raids lead to charges

The charges came after federal agents in July 2018 raided several skill game parlors.

The indictment alleges that:

  • Karasarides operated three illegal gambling businesses in Plain Township with a total of about 125 slot machines that had cash payouts. They were the Skilled Shamrock at 4225 Hills and Dales Road NW in Plain Township; Redemption Skill Games 777 at 2824-2826 Whipple Ave. NWand Plaza 777 at 2128 Columbus Road NE. For example, for Skilled Shamrock, annual net income after payouts and expenses ranged from about $600,000 to about $980,000 from 2013 to 2017, according to spreadsheet files seized by federal agents.

  • Karasarides has failed to pay $2.94 million in federal income taxes he owned from 2009 to 2014 plus penalties and interest. The IRS initiated collection proceedings on him in 2013. And Karasarides failed to disclose his income, at least $1.9 million from 2012 to 2018 from the gambling establishments in his tax returns and in seeking to negotiate with the IRS to lower his tax debt.

  • Karasarides used some of the proceeds to gamble at legal casinos where he won $1.95 million offset by $1.69 million in losses.

  • Karasarides allegedly paid large bills in cash — like $100,000 to his attorneys, $110,000 for car loans, $100,000 to Glenmore Country Club to cover golf and other expenses and $43,000 to a car dealership for a car where he sought to disguise the purchase as a lease.

  • Karasarides directed a co-conspirator to falsely tell federal agents in January 2021 that a promissory note was for a legitimate loan, which prosecutors say was not.

  • Karasarides allegedly created fake promissory notes for loans he had already paid with "concealed cash."

Second Superseding Indictment - U.S. vs. Jason Kachner, Rebecca Kachner, Ronald DiPietro, Thomas Helmick, C... by Robert Wang on Scribd

Karasarides faced earlier charges

Karasarides' four co-defendants were also released on unsecured bonds last year. Karasarides had to surrender his passport, is not permitted to leave the Northern Ohio Judicial District, can't possess firearms and can't contact the co-defendants.

In 2014, Karasarides was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Akron to 22 months in prison and a $25,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments by running an illegal sports bookmaking business. He also pleaded guilty to Oxycodone possession.

More: Hills & Dales man gets prison for sports gambling business

After Karasarides was placed on supervised release, federal officials had him arrested in July 2018 for violating the terms of his release. They accused him of traveling outside the court district without permission and visiting several casinos between October 2015 and May 2018 where he bought $1.6 million in casino chips.

U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi ordered he return to prison for six more months. According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Karasarides was released in January 2019.

Goldberg said his client is no longer on supervised release in the prior case.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Christos Karasarides Jr. indicted in Stark skill game parlor case