A Gardena man pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping run an illegal sports gambling business by assisting in the collection and payout of gambling proceeds related to a Costa Rica-based website.
Howard Miller, 63, admitted to having “aided and abetted the operation of an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that took bets for money on sporting events from various persons,” according to his plea agreement, filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Sentencing was set for July 27, at which time Miller faces up to five years behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The business remained in operation for at least six years and often had gross revenue of well over $2,000 on a single day, prosecutors said.
The Miller case is linked to that of Wayne Nix, a former minor league pitcher from Orange County, who also pleaded guilty last month, along with his business partner, to helping run the illegal betting operation.
Nix, 45, of Newport Coast, and Edon Kagasoff, 44, of Lake Forest, are both scheduled to be sentenced in July at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
Nix — who played for Oakland Athletics farm teams — also admitted to failing to report $1.4 million in income in 2017 and 2018, according to his plea agreement.
Prosecutors said Nix began operating a bookmaking business about 20 years ago. Through his sports contacts, he attracted clients including current and former professional athletes, and he employed three former Major League Baseball players to assist with the business.
Kagasoff joined Nix in the gambling operation around 2014, and they used a website and call center to create accounts for bettors. Nix and his associates paid winning bets and retained nearly all of the money collected from bettors, prosecutors said.
According to Nix’s plea agreement, he received payments for gambling losses from a professional football player, a Major League Baseball coach and a baseball analyst.
The plea agreement also discusses a bettor who wagered $1 million a year with Nix’s operation, a $5 million bet on the 2019 Super Bowl, and a sports broadcaster who told Nix he was going to refinance his home to pay off gambling debts.