A federal jury in Guam has returned guilty verdicts in a high-profile gambling and money laundering case.
United States Attorney ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO announced the verdicts, which found defendants William M. Perez and Jennie Wen Chin Pau guilty of various counts.
Perez was found guilty of:
Count 1 – Conspiracy to Commit Illegal Gambling
Count 2 – Illegal Gambling Business
Counts 18-38 – Money Laundering
Pau was found guilty of:
Count 1 – Conspiracy to Commit Illegal Gambling
Count 2 – Illegal Gambling Business
Counts 18-35 – Money Laundering
Counts 40-44 – Structuring
The jury found the defendants not guilty as to money laundering charges in Counts 3-17.
Perez and Pau will be sentenced by the Hon. Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on March 28, 2014, at 10:00 A.M.
Two co-defendants, Jimmy Hsieh and Pauline Perez, pleaded guilty before trial and are awaiting sentencing.
The evidence at trial showed that Perez and Pau conspired with other individuals to conduct an illegal gambling business in a manner that violated the laws of the Territory of Guam.
The defendants offered card games of chance, including baccarat and poker, at the MGM Spa building approximately five times a week.
The games violated Guam law in that the defendants, as the “house,” took a percentage of the winnings from each poker game, and also charged $5 per $100 of bets for food and drink.
The evidence at trial also showed that Perez and Pau committed money laundering by knowingly conducting financial transactions affecting interstate commerce, which transactions involved the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity, namely conducting an illegal gambling business.
The evidence at trial further showed that Pau knowingly and for the purpose of evading reporting requirements, structured transactions with domestic financial institutions, in violation of federal law.
U. S. Attorney Limtiaco stated, “The defendants participated in illegal gambling and laundered illegal gambling proceeds.
The convictions demonstrate the commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold accountable those involved in facilitating illegal gambling businesses.”
The Conspiracy, Illegal Gambling, and Structuring counts each carries a maximum prison term of five years.
Each count of Money Laundering carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.
This case was investigated by Special Agents from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Unit (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
Assistant United States Attorney Karon V. Johnson prosecuted the case.
Related Federal Cases
- David Merrill, Money Laundering, Utah 2011 · Illinois
- Vicente Guerrero Perez, Wire Fraud, Guam 2021 · Tennessee
- Chris Perez Calica, Wire Fraud, Guam 2020 · Tennessee
- Evan Daniel Montvel-Cohen, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft, Guam 2023 · Idaho
- Gillian A. Gallardo, Theft of Government Money, California 2015 · Illinois
Key Facts
- State: Guam
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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