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Jason Noah Feinman of Calabasas in California, has pleaded guilty to operating an illegal offshore gambling business, evading taxes and laundering money in a statement released by the Office of Public Affairs at the US Department of Justice.
Feinman operated a Costa Rica-based business in which its main focus was to run a website that was used by illegal gambling businesses to assist various gambling activities for customers who lived in California. The details were apparently leaked in the notorious Panama Papers.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion and Operating Illegal Offshore Gambling Businesshttps://t.co/TZYxzO6ZNh
— Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) January 14, 2026
They were encouraged to place bets across various websites that Feinman used and maintained, which is, of course, illegal in California under state and federal law.
Feinman laundered the money by exchanging cash for checks, receiving more than $1.5 million in cash between 2018 and 2024.
Furthermore, he failed to declare his income, concealing more than $4 million from the US Government, thus paying no tax on any of this.
He will be sentenced in May this year and could face up to ten years for money laundering and a further five for tax evasion, along with illegal gambling charges made against him.
Illegal gambling operations have been prominent in California
Earlier this year, the San Diego Police Department raided an illegal gambling operation in a City Heights home.
A total of nine arrests were made at the scene, where illegal gambling machines were found, along with $4,500 and weapons.
In December 2025, San Diego Police searched two locations following an investigation into an illegal gambling operation within the same City Heights area.
Indeed, a total of 62 illegal gaming machines were found across the two properties, again, with cash and weapons also found within the gambling dens.
Two further operations were raided by the police in the summer of 2025, with a SWAT team dispatched to one location.
Featured Image: AI generated by Ideogram
