USA: Sean Eberhart sentenced to jail for gambling corruption case

Garance Limouzy July 16, 2024

In Indiana, USA, former lawmaker Sean Eberhart has been sentenced to 12 months in jail for corruption and for striking an illicit deal with a casino. In exchange for his support of legislation favourable to the casino, he was promised a position within the company.

Corruption

In 2019, Eberhart accepted a future job offer worth at least $350,000 a year from Spectacle Entertainment, a gaming company. In return, he pushed for a law that gave the company authorisation to build two lakefront casinos, receive an $80 million licensing fee reduction, and obtain millions of dollars in tax breaks.

Up to five years in jail

Sean Eberhart faced a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The former lawmaker was ultimately given a year-long sentence and a $25,000 fine after pleading guilty in November and admitting to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. Eberhart is also required to repay a year’s worth of his salary as a lawmaker, which amounts to $60,000.

The court decided to add one day to his one-year sentence, making him eligible for good-time credit that could reduce his sentence by up to 15 percent.

Eberhart publicly expressed his regrets, saying, “I am truly and deeply sorry for what I did,” and acknowledged his disappointment in himself and full awareness of the impacts of his actions, for which he accepted “full responsibility.”

Eberhart has walked free out of the courtroom and will wait for a date set by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin his jail time.

The executive who was working for Spectacle Entertainment and struck the deal with Eberhart was not identified, and no one from the company has been charged at this time.