A man who admitted to operating an illegal sports-wagering and money-laundering enterprise out of a College-area gambling establishment was sentenced Monday to more than three years in federal prison.
Sanders Bruce Segal, 66, pleaded guilty last summer to taking part in a racketeering conspiracy while running Segal’s Lucky Lady Sports Book at Lucky Lady Casino and Card Room on El Cajon Boulevard and at other locations in San Diego.
While handing down the 37-month custody term, a federal judge also ordered Segal to pay $222,840 in criminal forfeiture for the proceeds he derived from bookmaking, transmitting wagering information, money laundering and collecting unlawful debts.
Though it is a legitimate gambling business, the card room where the defendant worked provided a front for his illegal bookmaking operations between 2013 and 2016, according to prosecutors.
In his plea agreement, Segal conceded that he directed the other members of the illicit enterprise to use gambling websites based overseas to place illegal sports bets on behalf of U.S. customers.
Segal and his co-conspirators also coordinated unlawful collection of the illegal wagers, typically in cash, and sent and received large sums of money as part of the operation. The defendant received 10 percent of any profits earned by the unlawful sports bets along with other financial benefits, court documents state.
Segal’s son, Sydney, used his own job at the card room south of San Diego State University to commingle cash from the lawful gambling operations of the card room with the proceeds of the criminal enterprise’s unlawful sports betting, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.
A total of 12 people, including the younger Segal, have pleaded guilty to federal charges in the case. Two remaining defendants, David Greg Leppo and Stanley Samuel Penn, are scheduled to stand trial next month.
— City News Service