The alleged discovery of multiple illegal gamerooms resulted in the arrest of six Texas-area people. One of the accused — Katherine Le — was a local celebrity and socialite who even landed on a best dressed list in 2010. According to authorities, Le and five other people were all accused of participating in the same white collar crime and initially had their bails set at $1 million, although those amounts have since been lowered.
Three different gamerooms were involved in what police say was a serious criminal enterprise. The rooms housed 8-liner slot machines, which are not legal. Since police initially launched their investigation in 2013, those slot machines allegedly netted the group nearly $6 million.
Le and her husband are believed to be the two heads of the operation, and when police later searched their home, investigators turned up approximately $1 million in both gold and cash that had been stored in a safety deposit box. One other claimed top level member of the gameroom operation was also arrested, in addition to three clerks accused of committing money laundering. Le and her husband are still behind bars in lieu of $150,000 bail, while the four others had their bail amounts lowered to $30,000.
High bail for an alleged white collar crime is actually quite normal, which is likely why the bail for all six people was initially set at $1 million. While lowered bails can be somewhat of a relief, money laundering and charges for illegal gambling are serious felonies that, if a conviction is secured, can land a person in prison for life. When facing challenges such as this, it can be especially beneficial for Texas defendants to begin constructing the most comprehensive and sturdy defense team possible.
Source: chron.com, “Prosecutors: Socialite’s gameroom scheme netted nearly $6 million“, Brian Rogers, Oct. 2, 2015