Two Cleveland County men have pled guilty to felonies charged in a federal indictment relating to the operation of an illegal gambling business involving video poker machines, and perjury before the grand jury investigating that operation.

On February 22, 2007, HICKS HELTON of Mooresboro pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Asheville to one count of conducting an illegal gambling business. On February 26, 2007, ROBIN BRIAN FRADY pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Asheville to one count of grand jury perjury. The count to which HELTON pled guilty charged him with operating the gambling business from on or before September 1, 2000, and continuing to the present, in Cleveland County in Western North Carolina. As part of the plea agreement, HELTON also consented to the forfeiture of $389,633 in cash and a house and land in Mooresboro, North Carolina, which were proceeds of criminal conduct and were used to facilitate the criminal conduct.

Each of the defendants faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The defendants' individual sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including each defendant's prior criminal record, if any, each defendant's role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. As to all defendants, no sentence will exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

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