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The 87-page indictment from January 2021 to April 2026 was unsealed revealing James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos as the alleged mastermind
He is linked to two popular restaurants in the Northwest portion of Indiana
The indictment also claims employees of the restaurants were involved in facilitating the operation
A Schererville, Indiana restaurateur is accused of masterminding an illegal sports betting business across several states.
22 individuals were charged as part of an FBI investigation filed in Hammond on Wednesday.
The 87-page indictment from January 2021 to April 2026 was unsealed revealing James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos as the alleged mastermind.
Dean “Dean Gem” Gialamas was also named as one of the leaders of Gerodemos Gambling Organization, according to the indictment.
The other people listed in the indictment are: Chris Gerodemos, Basam “Donny Brasco” Ibrahim, Sanad “Sanad Taka” Ibrahim, Peter “Pete Goodys” Pavlopoulos, Flippo “Gigi” Rovito, Michael “Michael Way Out” Campbell, Ehab “Eddie” Mustafa, Steve Armenta, Samuel Nuzzo, Alexander “Alex Gyros” Gagianas, Gus “Deans Runner” Kaporis, Rami “Rami Straight Flush” Mansour, Nenad “Butch Hunkee” Radoja, Marcus “Vladimir Ganz” Ganz, Paul “Paulie Scarf” Franze, Athena Gerodemos, Elias Gerodemos, James “Jim Macedonian” Strezovski, Andrew “Caesars Andrew” Nguyen and Giuseppe “Joe Polozzo”’ Manzi.
Gerodemos is linked to two restaurants, including Paragon Restaurant and Gino’s Steakhouse.
Paragon Restaurant is located in Hobart and was showing the business as being open as of Thursday morning, according to Google. 10 agents were seen at the Paragon Restaurant, 1701 E. 37th Ave Wednesday morning.
Additional law enforcement presence was reported at Gino’s Steakhouse, 600 E. Lincoln Hwy., in Merrillville.
The indictment claims that the gambling operation used Gino’s Steakhouse and Paragon restaurant to collect gambling proceeds, pay off winning bettors and transfer gambling proceeds between James and Chris Gerodemos.
The indictment goes on to allege that employees of Gino’s and Paragon also facilitated the operation through collection and distribution of revenue with agents, bookies and bettors, ranging from hundreds of dollars to nearly $50,000.
The Gerodemos Gambling Organization used websites, phone numbers and text messaging to have people place sports bets, which were placed in the Northern District of Indiana and throughout the country, according to the indictment.
The organization would set up bettors with an account number and password. The bettors were given a line of credit by the organization and didn’t have to put up their own money to place bets, according to the indictment.
“Instead, the Gerodemos Gambling Organization provided gamblers lines of credit allowing the bettors to begin their betting almost immediately through the illegal gambling websites, or over the telephone, without needing any actual cash to do so,” according to the indictment.
The organization’s members used money from losing bettors to pay the winners and the leaders of the Gerodemos Gambling Organization. If a payment couldn’t be made to a winner, the Gerodemos Gambling Organization would cover the payment, according to the indictment.
Members of the gambling operation communicated regularly about how much money a bettor owed (M or minus) and how much it owed to a bettor (P or plus). They also met with their agents, bookies and some bettors in person, inside public buildings or in parking lots, to collect or deliver payments for the sports bets, according to the indictment.
Detention hearings are expected Monday.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
