The Florida Gaming Control Commission has shut down an internet cafe in Sumter County and arrested the owner on charges of money laundering and keeping a gambling house.
Law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on July 15 at Il Villagio, a Lady Lake internet cafe along U.S. 441, and seized nearly 200 slot machines. They arrested owner and chief executive officer Rima Ray of Saint Augustine.
A search warrant affidavit prepared for Sumter County Circuit Court describes a six-month investigation of the internet cafe for having hundreds of illegal slot machines and exchanging large amounts of cash. In Florida, the machines are permitted only at eight licensed establishments in Miami-Dade County.
Il Villagio is located on U.S. Hwy. 441The search warrant allowed sheriffβs deputies to seize the machines along with money, financial records, phones, electronic devices, advertising materials and other items.
Sumter County has eight operating internet cafes and four that have closed. They operate under annual permits and are subject to monthly inspections for building code and safety standards. All eight, including Il Villagio, passed June inspections.
Also known as fish games, internet cafes offer cash or prizes to customers who play well on video games, which provides a way for them to skirt state gambling laws.
On a July 10 visit, five days before the raid, a special agent found Il Villagio closed, possibly with the illegal machines inside.
In February, Special Agent Robaldo Ramos was assigned to investigate the cafe after complaints of illegal gambling activity. Complainants also reported that the cafe was exploiting elderly customers and that hundreds of thousands of dollars were changing hands.
On April 2, another agent posing as a trainee entered the cafe with firefighters and a hidden camera, counting about 200 slot machines.
During another visit on June 12, Special Agent David Carney played machines, received cash vouchers and saw patrons exchanging cash with staff as in gambling establishments.
In July, Ramos began surveillance of Ray near her Saint Augustine home.
According to the search warrant affidavit, Ray paid the cafeβs Duke Energy utility bills with a personal credit card and was found to have an outstanding balance of $12,000. A TD Bank account also was cancelled due to suspected suspicious activity.
Ray was followed, stopped on a traffic violation and St. Johnβs County deputies seized about $340,000 in a backpack.
