Illegal Gambling and Fraud Ring Busted in Porterville, California

The attempted use of a stolen credit card resulted in the dismantlement of an illegal gambling business and fraudulent operation in Tulare County, California.

Six People Suspected of Fraud, Illegal Gambling Arrested

Law enforcement released details regarding the operation which was conducted last week. An announcement from the Porterville Police Department confirms that three addresses across Porterville have been subjected to searchers in light of the investigation that saw the arrest of a total of six people suspected of being involved.

Two of the residents, one 42-year-old identified with the initials M.K. and one 36-year-old woman identified with the initials S.G. are residents of Porterville, while one 57-year-old suspect identified with the initials E.H. is a resident of Strathmore. The remaining three of the detainees, 42-year-old woman identified with the initials K.S., D.C., a 35-year-old male and a 50-year-old male identified as K.K., are all Visalia residents.

Suspects Booked on a Range of Charges, Bails Set

The detainees face a range of different gambling and drug-related charges. The list of charges includes operating an illegal gambling establishment, illegal gambling, forgery, identity theft, possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, possession of stolen credit cards and possessing counterfeit checks.

During the law enforcement’s raid on an abandoned business at 100 block of West Orange Avenue, they uncovered and identified the suspects. Moreover, law enforcement searched this address along with the residence of one of the suspects and seized illegal gambling machines, drugs including methamphetamine, as well as a large number of fraudulent checks, credit cards and equipment required for forgery.

“Detectives located hundreds of items of evidence, including stolen and altered checks, stolen bank cards, stolen mail, fraudulent social security cards, and equipment used to alter and produce fraudulent documents,“

reads a statement from the Porterville Police Department

The Porterville Police Department confirmed that an investigation into the unlawful activities continues. They said that an incident report was sent to the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.

All suspects were booked in at the Tulare County South County Detention Facility. According to law enforcement, K.K., E.H. and D.C. are in custody, but it is unclear if they have a bail set for their release. On the other hand, M.K., S.G. and K.S. are currently held on a $102,500, $125,000 and $60,000 bail respectively.