Three Plead Guilty in Gambling Case and Forfeit $20 Million

Contact Person: Bill Watkins (864) 282-2100

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Bobby Mosley, Sr., age 63, of Townville, South Carolina; J. Michael Caldwell, age 42, of Williamston, South Carolina; and Frontier Software Systems, LLC, pled guilty today in federal court in Greenville.  Mosley pled guilty to operating an illegal gambling business in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1995; Caldwell pled guilty to serving as an accessory after the fact to transportation of gambling machines in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3; and Frontier Software Systems, LLC, pled guilty to a money laundering conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h).      United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks of Greenville accepted the guilty pleas from all three defendants and entered an order of forfeiture whereby the defendants agree to forfeit $20 million to the United States that was derived from criminal activities. 

According to the plea agreements and other documents filed in the case, in addition to the three convictions and $20 million forfeiture, the gambling business must move its headquarters out of the District of South Carolina and is banned from engaging in software design, development, or shipment of gambling machines or software in or from the District of South Carolina.  The plea agreements recommend probationary sentences for the Defendants and the dismissal of the remaining corporate defendants. 

The evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Bobby Mosley, Sr. owned a gambling business that was headquartered in Piedmont, South Carolina. In October 2013, federal search and seizure warrants were executed where agents seized several hundred gambling machines and other evidence.  South Carolina Code Section 12-12-2710 prohibits the possession of gambling machines in the state of South Carolina.   Three hundred and sixteen of the machines seized were “old-fashioned” or “stand-alone” video-poker-type gambling machines.  The machines are constructed so that a customer inserted cash directly into the machine, chose the amount of the bet, and watched the electronic simulation of slot machine reels. Once the customer finished playing, and, if the customer won, the machine printed a slip of paper that the customer took to the cashier.  The cashier paid the customer in cash.  Mosley’s gambling business then split its winnings with the gambling parlor where the machine was operated. Caldwell assisted Mosley in moving these illegal machines in interstate commerce. 

Frontier Software Systems, LLC, and others combined to conduct a series of financial and monetary transactions involving the proceeds from the illegal gambling business. Operators of gambling establishments that used Frontier’s software would pay a percentage of the operational net revenue from the gambling activity.  Frontier would then use this money to further the gambling business by purchasing, for example, gambling equipment and/or cabinetry through vendors. 

The case was investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service, and various state and local law enforcement agencies.  Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins and Max Cauthen of the Greenville office handled the case.