Bobby Mosley and J. Michael Caldwell Are Accused of Running a $386 Million Illegal Gambling Ring
The U.S. Department of Justice rejected the potential settlement in the Anderson County, South Carolina illegal gambling case. The case involves two South Carolina men, who are alleged to have run an illegal gambling and money laundering operation worth $386 million from 2005 to 2013. A federal judge appointed by the US Justice Department to the case just last month made a ruling which could change the tenor of the men’s trial.
The two men at the center of the case, Bobby Mosley of Townville and J. Michael Caldwell of Williamston. Prosecutors and defense lawyers worked out a settlement in a rarely-used mediation process. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed to the public, but specific laws limit the parameters of such plea bargains.
Defendants Wanted Assets Returned
Under policies instituted in the Justice Department’s asset-forfeiture policy manual, defendants cannot get back more than $2 million and 15% of their seized assets in a settlement unless it is directly approved by the deputy attorney general.
When federal agents arrested Bobby Mosley and J. Michael Caldwell in October 2013, they seized $84 million in assets. According to several reports, the men have sought to have most of those assets returned to them since they were seized. The original judge in the case returned some of those items including a Corvette and a $1.3 million Beechcraft Super King Air 200 airplane which belonged to Caldwell. The plane was used to fly the men to their upcoming court appearance, according to a report in The State.
New Judge Rejects the Deal
The decision to reject the plea bargain could be a bad sign for Mosley and Caldwell. It might signal that the new judge is going to take a stricter approach in the case. If so, then the men called by federal investigators the “national leaders in the field of illegal gambling” could have serious issues.
One possibility is the new settlement returned more than was allowed under the Justice Department’s policies, and the judge wanted to study the case in greater detail before deciding whether to allow it to proceed. If the bargain is unlikely to be approved by the deputy attorney general, then it is better for the judge to ask the prosecution and defense to construct a better settlement. The judge’s latest decision leaves two months for a new deal to be struck.
Federal Judge Bruce H. Hendricks
Mosley and Caldwell were expected to be in court this week in Greenville, but the judge in the case postponed all hearings, due to personal issues. The cancellation of the hearings in itself does not act as a rejection of the case’s settlement, but court documents show that no settlement was approved.
The case had been assigned a new judge in August 2014. The new judge, U.S. Judge Bruce (“Brucie”) H. Hendricks took over for U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis. Brucie Hendricks was nominated to her post by President Barack Obama in 2013.
Court Case Postponed until December
After canceling the hearing, she postponed the meeting until December. In a statement on the cancellation, Judge Hendricks wrote, “This court finds, based upon the representations of the government, that it is unreasonable to expect this matter to be tried during the October 2014 term of court.”
Bobby Mosley’s Criminal Past
Bobby Mosley has been involved in the gambling industry for three decades, while he has a three-decade history of criminal activity. In 1985, Mosley founded Best Amusement Inc., a gaming company which would become a major player in the legal video poker industry of South Carolina by the 1990s.
Also in 1985, though, Mosley was convicted of “conspiracy to traffic and distribute cocaine” and “possession of the drug phendimetrazine”, which is an amphetamine. At the time, Mosley received a six-year prison sentence and served 17 months. In 1995, Bobby Mosley pleaded guilty to income-tax fraud. He paid a fine and got 3 years of probation.
J. Michael Caldwell is married to the daughter of Bobby Mosley. Caldwell worked for the gaming company, Betsco Inc, in 1996. He started working with Indian casinos in 2001. Since 2004, he served as the CEO of Gateway Gaming, which is one of four gaming companies included in the federal indictment against Mosley and Caldwell.
Given that the two men combined appear to have been worth over $80 million, it is possible they have become leading figures in their area of South Carolina. Also, given that money laundering and illegal gambling rings often engage in bribery, it is possible the new federal judge in this case would prefer a full investigation into the proceedings, to make certain justice is being served in any plea agreement.
