2 El Dorado Hills residents plead guilty to operating gambling business

Two El Dorado Hills residents have pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business in federal court. James Mecham, 57, of Orem, Utah; Kurt Stocks, 49, of El Dorado Hills; and Heidi Edwards, 58, of El Dorado Hills made the pleas, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. According to court documents, Mecham, Stocks and Edwards managed a series of businesses, collectively known as SweepsCoach, that engaged in and facilitated illegal gambling at locations throughout the United States, including in California and Arizona. SweepsCoach was based in El Dorado Hills. Mecham, Stocks and Edwards marketed the SweepsCoach gaming operation and entered into agreements with internet cafés for access to the SweepsCoach portal throughout the Eastern District of California and Arizona. The defendants helped the cafés set up gaming terminals in California and Arizona and provided technical service. Players used credits to play slot machine-style games on a video screen and could potentially win additional credits, which could be exchanged for money at the internet café. Internet gambling of this form is illegal under California and Arizona laws. SweepsCoach clients would directly deposit the cash owed from the illegal gaming into bank accounts controlled by the defendants. Undercover law enforcement operations at several internet cafés in California and Arizona confirmed the use and conduct of SweepsCoach games. Between Jan. 1, 2012, and Nov. 7, 2017, $14 million in gaming proceeds was deposited into accounts controlled by Mecham, Stocks and Edwards. The gross gaming receipts from California and Arizona totaled $11 million. This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the California Department of Justice Bureau of Gambling Control, and the California Franchise Tax Board. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heiko Coppola is prosecuting the case. Mecham, Stocks and Edwards are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on Oct. 21. Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.