A duo from Braintree, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to charges related to unlicensed basement casinos in the area’s Chinatown and Quincy areas.
The two people, husband and wife, Xue Tan Cheng, 50, and Xiu Rong Li, 55, confessed to the crimes, each with fifteen felonies. This includes transporting and smuggling 12,000 unsealed cigarettes and recording and possession of bets Unlicensed gambling machines.
The fifteen felonies are divided as follows:
- Two counts of possession of an unlicensed gaming device
- Two counts of registering bets
- Two counts of tax evasion and filing false tax returns
- Two counts of transporting 12,000 unsealed cigarettes
- Three counts of money laundering
- Three counts of trafficking more than 12,000 cigarettes
According to Massachusetts Attorney General’s OfficeLi and Cheng operated the two underground casinos as of 2022. They provided the tables, machines, slot machines and cash payouts without any regulation. Unsealed cigarettes were then sold inside the establishments.
Massachusetts seized more than $6 million worth of cigarettes from a pair of underground casinos
Law enforcement raided various locations in September 2024. This is where significant amounts were seized, because of the “over 12,000” mentioned in the guilty plea, they secured “600,000 unsealed cigarette packs” at various residences and businesses. According to the press release, this amount is more than $6,000,000. The husband and wife duo are selling cigarettes tax-free, in violation of tax mandates set by the Commissioner of Revenue.
Last 22 Gambling machines were also seizedIn addition to 141 thousand dollars. Naturally, the tax office will get their due, as law enforcement authorities found that they did not file their taxes correctly in 2022 and 2023. Previous reports estimated this number at about $1.2 million in untaxed income.
The pair were charged in April, after the Tobacco Task Force uncovered underground casinos during an investigation. Cheng will spend three years in state prison.
Featured image: Wikicommons / CCP-SA 3.0
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