According to the San Jose Mercury News, the searching of a Handa Lopez Inc. exec's home and office in May by a contingent of authorities from the FBI, Treasury Department, Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Services, the IRS and the Sunnyvale, California Police Department was indeed part of an investigation into alleged illegal gambling activity.
The San Francisco-based U.S. attorney's office and U.S. Customs agents last month moved to seize a $1 million house in an exclusive neighborhood in Gilroy, California, alleging that it was purchased with proceeds from an international gaming service.
Prosecutors allege in documents filed in U.S. district court in San Jose that David Brown registered several gambling sites in offshore locations such as the Dominican Republic. Court papers say that Brown operated the computers for as many as 17 wagering sites, taking in $30,000 in profits per day and recording $500,000 in customer credit card charges per month.
In addition to the Gilroy house, authorities allege Brown used gaming proceeds to purchase a 1998 Ferrari and a 1998 Piper Seneca airplane. Federal prosecutors have not charged Brown with a crime and would not comment on the status of their investigation. The investigation was disclosed in a lawsuit filed by the federal government seeking the forfeiture of Brown's property, alleging it was purchased using profits raised by of criminal activity.
Federal prosecutors haven't yet charged Brown with a crime.
Neither Brown's attorney nor federal prosecutors were available for comment.