CLEVELAND — An Ohio man has been charged by the Department of Justice today, according to a spokesperson from the department.
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Steven Saris of Canton allegedly earned millions and evaded taxes.
A Cleveland federal grand jury charged Saris with:
- Operating illegal gambling businesses (IGBs)
- Tax evasion
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States,
- Willful failure to collect and pay over-employment taxes
- Money laundering
- Obstruction-related offense
From 2012 through 2022, Saris owned and operated multiple IBGs, those include:
- Café 62
- Lucky’s
- Winner’s World
- Spin City
- an IGB located in Springfield
Saris allegedly concealed his involvement by having other people serve as nominee owners, the spokesperson said.
He allegedly did not file personal income tax returns with the IRS for 5 years, between 2016 and 2021. Even though he received more than $4 million in income from the IGBs.
To hide his involvement and income, Saris allegedly destroyed and directed others to destroy business records associated with the illegal business.
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Additionally, he allegedly paid the IGB employees in cash and did not account for, or pay over employment taxes.
The indictment alleges that Saris lied to investigators about his ownership and involvement with IGBs and attempted to prevent investigators from finding and taking his cell phone by allegedly concealing it inside the water tank of a toilet.
If Saris is convicted, he could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each tax evasion, illegal gambling business, conspiracy, employment tax and destruction and removal of property to prevent seizure.
He would also face a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for each money laundering count.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Before this, Saris was indicted and charged with one count of owning and operating an IGB.
This case is still under investigation.
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