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A 41-year-old Honolulu man pleaded guilty Monday to participating in a major Hawaii Internet sports betting operation and agreed to forfeit nearly $800,000 of proceeds from the illegal gambling.
Allen Yamada also pleaded guilty to filing a false federal tax return and laundering the money through a cleaning company.
He pleaded guilty to three felony counts that carry a prison term totaling up to 25 years.
Yamada’s sentencing is scheduled for May 15 before U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi.
Last month in the same case, Thomas Ky, 47, owner of Assaggio restaurants, pleaded guilty to money laundering and agreed to forfeit $1,336,500 to the federal government.
More than 20 others have pleaded guilty in the federal prosecution of the Internet gambling enterprise that involved sports betting sites based in Costa Rica.
"I was involved in Internet gambling (from 2009 to 2012)," Yamada told Kobayashi.
He admitted he acted as a master agent and later as a partner and agent with Felix Gee Won Tom, the admitted head bookie who later became the master agent.
Yamada admitted he and Tom had about 20 runners who collected bets.
For 2011, Yamada reported on his tax return that his adjusted gross income was $14,156 and failed to report $195,581 in gambling income, he acknowledged.
He agreed to pay $45,120 in restitution to cover the government’s loss of taxes.
Yamada also agreed to forfeit $793,136 in proceeds from the gambling operation.
In exchange for his guilty pleas, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Yamada on an illegal gambling business charge and other gambling-related money laundering counts.
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