Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Husband and wife indicted for allegedly running illegal casinos in Chinatown and Quincy
The duo allegedly failed to report more than $1.2 million in taxable income.
A Braintree couple is facing 15 criminal charges after a statewide grand jury indicted them for allegedly running illegal casinos in Chinatown and Quincy, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday.
Xue Tan Zheng, 50, and Xiu Rong Li, 55, each face the following charges:
- 2 counts of money laundering
- 2 counts of tax evasion
- 3 counts of trafficking unstamped cigarettes
- 2 counts of transporting unstamped cigarettes
- 2 counts of possessing or operating an electronic gaming device
- 2 counts of registering bets
- 2 counts of filing a false or fraudulent tax return for the 2022 and 2023 tax years
The indictments are the result of a two-year joint investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit.
The investigation, initiated by the commonwealth’s Illegal Tobacco Task Force, found that since 2022, Zheng and Li operated two unlicensed casinos. The first was at 299 Newport Ave. in Quincy, and the second was at 32B Oxford St. in Boston.
Advertisement:
At the casinos, the couple and their employees allegedly provided gaming tables and devices, including slot machines, which gave cash payouts. They also allegedly offered illegal, unstamped tobacco products for sale.
The investigation also found that the couple purchased cigarettes from out-of-state and international sources, which they sold without charging the required tax, as mandated by the Commissioner of Revenue.
Investigators executed a search warrant in September 2024 and seized 600,000 packs of unstamped cigarettes, which equates to about $6 million worth. The investigators also took 22 slot machines and about $141,000 in cash from the couple’s various residences and businesses.
Advertisement:
A review of the evidence allegedly showed that Zheng and Li underreported their taxable income in 2022 and 2023.
Assistant Attorney General Keri Angus is prosecuting the criminal matter.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com