Texas family caught running $33million illegal gambling outfit
A family in southeast Texas has acknowledged in federal court that it has run an illegal bookmaking service for over three decades. The illegal operation was ran from the father’s used car dealership and has been described as one of the nation’s biggest illegal sports gambling and money laundering operations.
Three members of the Tillery family – Larry, his wife Judy Kay and their son Brian – pleaded guilty in court in Beaumont, Texas.
Larry Tillery, 69, and Brian Tilery, 46, pleaded guilty to making monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity and tax evasion. Judy Tillery, 62, pleaded guilty to structuring financial transactions to evade tax reporting requirements
The prosecutors say that the family had handled over £33million from 2010 to 2016, with the wife helping to launder the money, while the son helped to collect the payments.
As part of the plea deal, the family forfeit the $1.7million in cash which was seized, along with numerous items of jewellery and luxury watches.
The US Attorney, Joseph Brown stated that: “The Tillerys ignored state and federal gambling laws and profited tremendously from a criminal enterprise. We intend to collect every bit of the money judgment that will be issued against them and we expect Larry Tillery’s prison sentence to send a message to those who profit from illegal bookmaking.”.
