Overview
- Federal prosecutors announced charges against 22 people Thursday, following Wednesday's coordinated raids that involved more than 150 agents executing arrests and searches across Indiana, Chicago, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Sarasota, Mesa and San Juan.
- Investigators say James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos and Dean “Dean Gem” Gialamas led the operation, which used Gino’s Steakhouse in Merrillville and Paragon Restaurant in Hobart as hubs where money moved between organizers and bettors, and both restaurants are now closed.
- According to the 87-page indictment, the group ran bets nationwide through websites, phone lines and texts, issued account numbers and passwords, extended lines of credit to start betting without cash and tracked balances with simple plus or minus codes.
- Prosecutors allege members used threats and intimidation to collect debts that reached tens of thousands of dollars, including tracking down people in other states and warning relatives, which officials say spread fear well beyond the bettors themselves.
- Counts include illegal gambling, Hobbs Act extortion, money laundering conspiracy and transmission of wagering information, with top charges carrying up to 20 years in prison, and the probe known as Operation Porterhouse Parlay continues as the FBI seeks tips at 1-800-CALL-FBI.