FLINT (WWJ) – Three people accused of running an illegal gambling operation in Flint are set to learn their sentence next month.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board says 53-year-old Anthony Sutton of Wilmington, NC, 37-year-old Kara Shilling of Flint and 53-year-old Marjorie Brown, also of Flint, will face sentencing on June 1 for their roles in operating Spin City.
Spin City was a former illegal gambling operation on Miller Road in Flint Township that was brought down in 2019 after a joint investigation by the MGCB, Michigan Department of Attorney General and Flint Township Police Department.
Sutton pleaded guilty last month to one felony count of conducting gambling operations. Shilling pleaded guilty to a high court misdemeanor of maintaining a gambling room, while Brown pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of attempting to maintain a gambling house.
MGCB executive director Henry Williams says these types of illegal gambling facilities “often target lower income areas and vulnerable populations.”
“The MGCB partners with local law enforcement and the Attorney General’s office to investigate reported instances of illegal gambling and help communities close unlicensed and unregulated operations across the state,” Williams said, per a press release.
Earlier this month the MGCB announced authorities had seized 100 gambling machines from two alleged storefront casinos in the Flint area. Investigators seized nearly $30,000 in suspected gambling profits and 62 gift cards of varying amounts during that raid.
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The investigation into Spin City began back in the summer of 2018 after Flint Township contacted the MGCB about reports of illegal gambling at a building on Miller Road.
Authorities officially began investigating in July 2018 and the MGCB sent a cease-and-desist letter in January 2019, giving Spin City two weeks to stop operating.
Investigators served a search warrant in late February 2019, seizing 67 computers and slot-style gaming machines, along with more than $12,600 in cash and other items related to the operation.
Sutton’s charge of conducting gambling operations carries a penalty of up to 10 years in state prison or a fine of up to $100,000. The court, however, accepted a plea agreement for no jail time at the initial sentencing.
Shilling could face up to two years in state prison or a fine of up to $1,000, and Brown could face up to a year in county jail, according to the MGCB.
David Hoppe of St. Clair County pleaded guilty to two felonies – conducting illegal gambling activities and using a computer to commit a felony – in 2020 in connection with the Spin City operation.
Authorities say he supplied illegal gambling games to the operation between May 2017 and February 2019.
He was sentenced to a year of probation and $1,066 in fines, costs and fees.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said her department will continue to work with the MGCB to crack down on illegal gambling facilities across Michigan.
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