Nathan Nichols, a 46-year-old man from Corpus Christi, pleaded guilty to crimes in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on March 21. Nichols admitted to operating two illegal gambling businesses and conspiring in the theft of $2,176,000 of government property from the U.S. Army.
U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery announced, through a press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), that Nichols operated both gambling businesses in Corpus Christi from March 2018 to August 2019.
Illegal gaming devices were found at Theo’s Bar, which Nichols co-owns, and at Lady Luck, which he owns and operates. The devices had software-based computer-screen games, like the traditional slot-machine game or “8-liners,” for people to play: before each spin, players would place their bet, and if they won, they received cash.
Global Gaming News states that Texas holds restrictive gambling laws that do not allow commercial businesses to obtain slot machine-style games.
Three other men, whose identities are unknown, were also involved in Nichols’ gambling operations.
A long-term investigation into the gambling case led to the execution of a search warrant at Nichols’ residence in July 2021. When the search was conducted, authorities found government property that belonged to the U.S. Army and had been stolen from Fort Hood the previous June.
All of the items found were sensitive military equipment, including laser aiming devices, laser range finders, thermal scopes, night vision goggles, and night vision scopes.
Although Nichols did not steal the items, he was in contact with the person who did. Once the items were stolen, Nichols asked the suspect for pictures of them. An agreement was made for him to purchase the equipment, and Nichols posted it on eBay for resale.
According to a news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brad Scott said, “By conspiring to steal military-grade equipment and sell it on the open market, this individual potentially exposed sensitive Department of Defense technologies to our enemies, endangered the lives of our men and women in uniform, and weakened our national security. Working together with our partners at U.S. Army (Criminal Investigation Division, CID), we were able to uncover his actions and mitigate any potential harms that he might have done to the country.”
The combined proceeds from Nichols’ illegal activity equal $2,185,218.73, which he agreed to forfeit.
The gambling case was investigated by the FBI and the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Narcotics and Vice Division. The stolen government property case was investigated by the HSI with the help of the U.S. Army CID.
Prosecutors for Nichols’ case are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Marin and Joel Dunn, with the help of Asset Forfeiture Assistant U.S. Attorney Yifei Zheng.
Nichols is currently in jail and will remain there until his sentencing is ruled by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos on June 21. He faces up to 5 years in prison for each conviction.
