2 accused of running illegal gambling business in Altamonte Springs
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Two men were recently arrested on racketeering and other charges in Seminole County, accused of running an illegal gambling operation with casino-style games out of a strip mall in Altamonte Springs.
Dhanan Alexander Ganpat and Amit Rampersaud, both 34, are accused of running afoul of state gambling laws at Infinity Potential VIP, a business at 801 West State Road 436 that authorities say offered online “sweepstakes” that were indistinguishable from slot machines.
An agent with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Investigations Unit received a tip about the business in November from an informant, who passed along a flyer with pictures of gambling devices.
The investigator visited the business undercover the following month, paying cash for what the business described as “internet time” — which came with 100 “sweepstakes entries” per dollar, an affidavit said.
In reality, the investigator wrote, the entry credits were what was for sale, allowing customers to wager on computers that displayed slot machine-like randomized spins, collect winnings or lose the initial stake based on the outcome, then “cash out” at the front counter.
The business also featured a “fish table,” the affidavit said, referring to a kind of digital arcade game that has sparked debates about its legality.
Days after the undercover deputy’s visit, agents with the City County Investigative Bureau, a multi-agency vice task force, raided Infinity Potential VIP — seizing 25 gaming devices and 20 computers, as well as a money counter and cash, the affidavit states.
Both Ganpat and Rampersaud over the past week have been arrested on charges of possession of a slot machine, running an illegal lottery, keeping a gambling house and violation of Florida’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, records show.
Both have since been released from jail, records show.
The investigator who wrote the affidavit for Ganpat’s arrest was also a lead agent in the investigation of Allied Veterans of the World Inc., which ran dozens of Central Florida internet cafes that were shut down in 2013 when authorities alleged they were actually gambling houses.
More than 50 people were arrested in that case, which also prompted the resignation of then Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who was not arrested or charged but had business ties to the company.
