Two arrested in $242 million gambling operation

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2002

Federal and state agents arrested two Anderson County men last Wednesday as part of an investigation into a large-scale gambling and money-laundering operation. Bobby Mosley Sr. of Townville and J. Michael Caldwell, who lives north of Williamston, were arrested in connection with the illegal operation.

A federal grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses Mosley and Caldwell of running an illegal gambling business that generated at least $242 million since 2005. The indictment also accuses them of laundering more than $144 million as part of the operation.

According to reports, agents from the U.S. Secret Service, federal Internal Revenue Service and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division searched two homes and two businesses last week.

The properties included Caldwell’s home, which includes 4.6 acres on Autumn Blaze Trail and has a tax value of $1.26 million and Mosley’s home on Keowee Club Road, which sits on 3.6 acres near Hartwell Lake and has a tax value of $1.54 million.

The other properties that were searched are buildings at 135 Kiowa Lane in Piedmont and 1243 Piedmont Highway in Greenville County, the law enforcement source said. These buildings are affiliated with the four companies named in the grand jury indictment: Gateway Systems LLC, Gateway Gaming LLC, Frontier Software Systems LLC and Frontier Gaming Inc.

According to the indictment, Caldwell, Mosley and the four companies developed high-speed interactive wagering and other gambling devices. In addition to delivering and installing the machines, they provided technical, management and accounting support in exchange for a cut of the gambling revenues, the indictment states.

The illegal gambling took place at Internet cafes in South Carolina and other states, officials said.