On December 12, 2019, the Statewide Grand Jury returned an indictment charging three defendants with 30 felony counts stemming from an investigation into bribery, obtaining property under false pretenses, and tax evasion that involved an executive of Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc., a casino vendor, and an associate.
It is alleged that Yehuda Amar, a casino vendor, made payments to Michael Barlow, senior vice president of operations at Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc., as a reward for securing subleases with multiple food court vendors as well as multiple business contracts.
"The crimes alleged in the indictment not only harm legitimate business owners, but hurt the business climate in our state," said Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. "Illicit deals and the crimes alleged disadvantage those businesses who play by the rules and create an unfair competitive playing field. I appreciate the hard work of the Rhode Island State Police and their partnership during this investigation."
Facts as alleged in the indictment:
As alleged in the indictment, Barlow recruited Amar in 2007 to open a Haagen Dazs ice cream shop in the Twin River food court. Later, in 2012, Barlow and Amar purchased several residential and commercial properties in New London, Connecticut. During this time, Barlow incurred $340,000 in debt to Amar through the purchase and renovation of their properties.
As alleged in the indictment, after incurring debt to Amar, Barlow used his position as senior vice president of operations at Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc to steer vendors and business contracts to Amar, who in turn profited from the transactions. In exchange, Barlow received debt relief from 2012 until 2014.
As alleged in the indictment, there were several business transactions where Barlow received debt relief in exchange for setting up Amar to profit significantly.
In June 2008, Amar and business associate Jill Feldman incorporated Shai RI, Inc. with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. Despite receiving income from subleases, Amar and Feldman, as principals of Shai RI, Inc., failed to file corporate tax returns in Rhode Island for 2016, 2017, and 2018. They also failed to report business income for those years and filed fraudulent personal income tax returns with the state. In addition, Amar failed to file corporate tax returns in Rhode Island for 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Charges:
Michael Barlow is charged with four counts of accepting a bribe, three counts of obtaining property under false pretenses, three counts of conspiracy to obtain property under false pretenses, and two counts of casino gaming crimes/providing false information.
Yehuda Amar is charged with four counts of bribery, three counts of obtaining property under false pretenses, three counts of conspiracy to obtain property under false pretenses, six counts of failure to file corporate tax, four counts of filing a fraudulent personal income tax return, and one count of failing to file a personal income tax return.
Jill Feldman is charged with three counts of failure to file corporate tax, two counts of filing a fraudulent personal income tax return, and one count of failure to file a personal income tax return.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court today, December 17, 2019.
Access a complete copy of the signed indictment here.
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