Marbleheader Named In 422-Count Indictment

A man who spends part of the year in Marblehead is one of the first people in the country to be charged under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Richard Sullivan, 61, of Marblehead and St. John's, Antigua, and three other men with North Shore ties, were indicted on 422 counts of racketeering, money laundering and running illegal gambling businesses, according to the US Attorney's office. 

Robert Eremian, who has a record of tax evasion stemming from 2002, and Daniel Eremian are the brothers of Patrice Tierney, the wife of U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, D-Salem.

Also named in the indictment filed today, is Robert Eremian, 57, of St. John's, Antigua, and Lynnfield;  brother Daniel Eremian, 60, of Boca Raton, Fla.; and Todd Lyons, 36, of Beverly.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed in 2006, aims to prevent the banking system from paying internet gambling debts.

Prosecutors say Sullivan, along with Lyons and Daniel Eremian, hired people to collect debts for an online gambling business in Antigua owned by Eremian's brother Robert. 

Money from the business was shipped to Antigua and then the group paid out millions of dollars to friends and relatives in America, according to prosecutors at the US Attorney's office.

"The alleged conduct in this case used Antigua as a haven to commit crimes in the United States,'' Ortiz said in a statement. "Today's charges should send a strong message that we will follow investigative leads and prosecute crimes conducted over the Internet from offshore locations. Criminals cannot evade US laws by hiding behind the veil of the Internet or the laws of another nation.''

While Lyons pleaded not guilty in May and was released on $200,000, arraignment dates have not been set for the other three men according to a clerk at the US Attorney's Office. If convicted, each of the four face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the most serious charges and fines of up to $250,000, as well as three years of supervised release, the statement said.