Lexington County video poker kingpin Federick “Fred” McCary agreed to forfeit $1 million Monday in federal court for the felony crime of conspiracy to engage in an illegal gambling business. McCary, 68, a well-known Lexington County businessman,will also serve a six-month sentence in a federal prison, U.S. Judge Sherri Lydon ordered in a hearing at the Columbia federal courthouse. The $1 million McCary agreed to forfeit will go to the Secret Service, which is expected to turn it over to the State Law Enforcement Division, which conducted an undercover investigation that led to the federal charges. “McCary was the leader of a relatively large-scale gambling organization in Lexington,” according to a federal prosecutor’s filing in the case objecting to a request for a non-prison sentence for McCary. The video poker operation could make up to $100,000 per week, according to an indictment in the case. It was so busy it stayed open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.daily and necessitated McCary to hire two shifts of workers to oversee the business, the indictment said.
Guilty Lexington County video poker kingpin must pay $1 million to federal government
