California man sentenced to 27 months for illegal gambling and tax evasion

A California man was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for operating an illegal gambling business, laundering millions in cash proceeds, and evading taxes on approximately $4.2 million in income, the Justice Department announced. Jason Noah Feinman, of Calabasas, operated a Costa Rica-based business that maintained a website used by unlicensed gambling operations to facilitate betting activity illegal under state and federal law.

Laundering and tax evasion To launder cash generated by the business, Feinman exchanged it for checks made payable to himself or one of his businesses. Between May 2018 and January 2024, he gave one customer more than $1.5 million in cash and received 18 checks for an equivalent amount in return, with total exchanges ranging between $1.5 million and $3.5 million.

Feinman also evaded taxes on income earned through the illegal gambling business between 2018 and 2022. Despite earning approximately $1.8 million in income in 2020, he reported no taxable income to the IRS and paid no taxes that year.

Guilty pleas and investigation He pleaded guilty to one count each of tax evasion, operating an illegal gambling business, and money laundering. Officials from the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Central District of California announced the sentence.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. The National Fraud Enforcement Division, created April 7, focuses on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the American people and supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.