Two Houston County men plead guilty to racketeering related to gambling machines
PERRY -- Two brothers pleaded guilty to racketeering charges Thursday related to illegal cash payouts on gambling machines at Warner Robins convenience stores.
Bharatkumar Dhayal Amin, 35, of Centerville and Maheshkumar Dahyalal Amin, 33, of Warner Robins each pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering in Houston County Superior Court, court records show.
Chief Judge George Nunn sentenced Bharatkumar Amin to 90 days in a county jail. The judge sentenced Maheshkumar Amin to 90 days in a state probation detention facility.
Both men were also put on probation for nine years and nine months, with early termination possible after five years if all terms of probation are met.
Both of them also received first-offender treatment, which means the felony conviction would come off their records upon successful completion of probation.
The judge also imposed a mandatory $25,000 fine against each man.
The Amin brothers were indicted in July 2014 following a series of raids by Warner Robins police targeting commercial gambling operations in which cash was paid out illegally.
Georgia law prohibits cash payouts for winnings on state-sanctioned video gambling machines. The law allows stores to pay winners only in store credit that can be used for merchandise, gas or lottery tickets. Redemptions for alcohol and tobacco products are also prohibited.
The illegal cash payouts took place between July 7, 2005, and June 17, 2013, and involved several stores, according to the indictment.
The stores were Gifts and More at 512 Russell Parkway; Davis Food Store at 1202 Davis Drive; Bi-Lo Mart at 1310 Green St.; USA Dollar Store at 1621 Moody Road; The Gift Shop at 1756 Watson Blvd.; and Fine Foods at 545 N. Davis Drive.
Authorities across the midstate have targeted dozens of stores in recent years. Bibb County's district attorney, David Cooke, filed a lawsuit this past fall alleging racketeering and illegal gambling violations involving 85 convenience stores, 69 people and a corporation that owns more than 600 gambling machines at 100 locations across Georgia.
Based on computer reports to the state, the stores submitted false tax returns, failing to pay state sales or use taxes on about $32 million paid to customers as winnings.
Defendants named in the suit owe more than $20 million in taxes to state and local governments, the suit alleged.
Cooke's office filed a similar suit in 2014 after 10 Bibb County stores were shuttered in the county's largest-ever commercial gambling raid.
Nine stores eventually struck a $1 million settlement with prosecutors. The other store agreed separately to pay $175,000.
To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559, or find her on Twitter@becpurser.
This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Two Houston County men plead guilty to racketeering related to gambling machines ."