Ohio man pleads guilty to operating illegal gambling business, tax fraud

CANTON, Ohio (WKBN) — An Ohio man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges relating to his ownership and operation of illegal gambling businesses in Northeast Ohio.

Steven Saris , 49, of Canton, Ohio, pleaded guilty Thursday to tax evasion, operating an illegal gambling business and two counts of money laundering.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2009 through 2022, he owned and operated multiple illegal gambling businesses in Northeast Ohio including Café 62, Lucky’s, Winner’s World and Spin City. He also owned and operated such businesses in Springfield, Ohio, and throughout Florida.

A release from the Northern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s office states Saris concealed his involvement in these businesses by arranging for others to serve as nominee owners.

The court alleged Saris earned millions of dollars from said business ventures but did not file tax returns or pay taxes. According to a court release, Saris filed a false tax return that did not report more than $1.4 million in income he received from his gambling businesses in 2015. From 2016 through 2021, Saris did not file tax returns or pay all the taxes that he owed despite earning more than $8.5 million in income from his gambling businesses, reports state.

During that time, Saris made only two nominal payments in 2018 when he filed an application for an extension of time to file his 2017 return. Saris used his proceeds from the illegal gambling businesses to gamble millions at legal casinos and to acquire and renovate at least two residential properties located in Canton, Ohio, courts state.

Saris’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of $2.8 million.

In July 2018, law enforcement executed search warrants at multiple illegal gambling businesses and associated locations in Northeast Ohio. Following those search warrants, Saris approached law enforcement officers about cooperating in the investigation and made false statements to them, the courts allege. At the same time Saris was meeting with law enforcement regarding his supposed cooperation, he continued operating the illegal gambling businesses in Ohio and did not disclose these operations to law enforcement, court reports state.

In August 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home and for his cell phone. Saris told law enforcement that he didn’t know the location of his phone, which was found in the water tank of his bathroom toilet.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 8. Saris faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the counts of money laundering and five years in prison for both tax evasion and operating an illegal gambling business. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, Stark County Prosecutor’s Office, Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission-Major Crimes Task Force investigated the case.

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