Dec. 12—A man who ran an illegal gambling operation at a Kettering internet cafe raided in May by local law enforcement was sentenced to time served.
Sanjay Natwarbhai Patel, 44, of Naperville, Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Timothy O’Connell to two misdemeanor counts of operating a gambling house via a bill of information, according to court records released Thursday.
Patel had been charged with felony counts of gambling and operating a gambling house.
The Kettering Police Department raided an internet cafe May 30 at 2850 S. Dixie Drive, just north of Dorothy Lane. That followed an undercover investigation lasting six months that also involved the Dayton Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations Chicago.
The South Dixie address was home to Computer Internet Cafe Inc., according to business records filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
“Kettering was investigating … an illegal gambling establishment,” Bob Green said at the time of the raid. Green is director of a combined tactical crime suppression unit of Centerville, Germantown, Kettering, Miamisburg, Moraine, Oakwood, Springboro and West Carrollton police forces that assisted Kettering police. “They did some control operations there where they went in and gambled. And they got enough for a search warrant.”
Kettering police opened its investigation Nov. 1, 2023, after a Kettering road patrol officer reported suspicious activity and that the windows were obstructed and Google reviews mentioned potential slot machines inside, according to an affidavit filed in Kettering Municipal Court.
A plainclothes detective on Nov. 1 found the door locked with a camera at eye level. Someone allowed him inside, where the detective saw several slot machines at the business that only took cash. Kettering vice detectives conducted further undercover operations, and on Nov. 29, 2023, April 17 and May 23 made controlled buys using marked bills by playing the digital slot machines and receiving cash payouts, the affidavit stated.
The state regulates gaming machines, and requires that they be skill-based. They also cannot give out cash or the equivalent, and no prize can have a monetary value exceeding $10.
The investigation into the Kettering internet cafe also included a GPS search warrant of Patel’s car, which police obtained March 8 and monitored for several weeks. Patel made numerous stops at the internet cafe in Kettering, a West Carrollton apartment used by a relative and his home in Naperville. Patel also made stops at other suspected illegal gambling operations in Dayton and Van Wert, Ohio, the affidavit stated.
Dayton police detectives were investigating illegal gambling sites, including one Patel frequented.
A March raid by Dayton police and the Ohio Casino Control Commission at Lucky Day Internet Cafe 1880 Needmore Road, where Patel’s relative is the manager, led officials to seize about 100 machines and a large amount of cash. The raid also led to the discovery of a Kroger receipt with a Kroger Plus card number for “Sam Patel,” which was determined to be Sanjay Patel.
Kettering police filed a subpoena for records that showed numerous money wiring transactions using the Kroger Plus card made in conjunction with area visits to suspected illegal gambling operations recorded by GPS data, according to the affidavit.
Kettering police on May 30 raided the internet cafe and West Carrollton apartment on the same morning that Dayton police raided four suspected illegal gambling locations at 3604 N. Main St., 2178 N. Gettysburg Ave., 2162 N. Gettysburg Ave. and 3491 Siebenthaler Ave., the affidavit stated.
Kettering police seized more than $200,000 and numerous gaming machines during the two searches, said officer Cynthia James, Kettering police spokeswoman. Cash seized included two $100 bills that were marked by Kettering police for the controlled buys, according to court documents.
Patel was taken into custody May 30 by Homeland Security Investigations Chicago. Agents reported finding $315,000 and a large amount of gold jewelry worth more than $200,000.
He previously was convicted in April 2016 in Sidney Municipal Court for misdemeanor counts of operating a gambling house and for a gambling device. Sixteen other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. He was fined $300 and sentenced to 60 days in jail, online court records show.
Staff Writer Nick Blizzard contributed to this report.
