A Santa Monica man who admitted running an illegal gambling business, evading his taxes and laundering money faces sentencing Tuesday on federal charges.
Christopher Scott King used a sports betting website based in Costa Rica to facilitate bettors wagering on sporting events in violation of both California state and federal laws, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Working out of Los Angeles County, King also admitted he evaded his taxes.
Between 2019 and 2022, King concealed more than $13.58 million of income from the Internal Revenue Service by, among other things, not reporting all of his income on his returns. On his 2022 income tax return, for example, King reported $143,258 in taxable income but, in reality, he earned more than $5 million that year, according to his plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.
King laundered his money by channeling it through real estate development projects and gold, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He also used money he received from his illegal gambling business to fund his brokerage and financial accounts. As part of his plea agreement, King has agreed to pay $10 million in a personal money judgment of forfeiture at sentencing Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.
In total, federal prosecutors said, King caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $3.80 million.