Nathan Nichols, 46-year-old Corpus Christi man was sentenced to more that two years imprisonment after he admitted to operating an illegal gambling enterprise. According to the US Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas, Tuesday’s revelations revealed that the same man was also involved with the theft of US Army property.
In collaboration with Corpus Christi Police Department, the FBI investigated the illegal gambling operation. Homeland Security Investigations, on the other hand, investigated the theft of military property and was assisted by the US Army Criminal Investigation Division.
The US Attorney’s Office stated that Nichols was both the owner and operator for Lady Luck as well as co-owner of Theo’s Bar. Both of these businesses provided illegal gambling entertainment. According to the Attorney’s Office Nichols admitted that he participated in illegal gambling operations in Corpus Christi, which ran from March 2018 to August 2019.
The Man was sentenced to a prison term, followed by supervised release
Computers that showed casino-style games resembling a standard slot machine were used in illegal gambling. These games are also known as “8-liners” and gamblers used a computer screen to play. They could place wagers and win cash.
Nichols was sentenced for his role in the theft of US Army equipment and illegal gambling. He will spend 27 months, 2 years and 3 month in federal prison. He will also be subject to two years of supervised freedom in addition to his sentence. The court also ordered Nichols to pay $1 million in restitution. He also agreed to forfeit $2.18 million he received from illegal gambling.
The search warrant was executed at Nichols’ residence in July 2021 to find out what happened to the US Army equipment. The authorities found property belonging to the US Army at his residence, including night vision scopes and goggles as well as laser aiming equipment, thermal scopes, and laser range finders.
The total cost of the items came to $2,176,000. Investigations revealed that Nichols had been in touch with someone involved in the theft. He agreed to purchase the military equipment in order to resell it.
