A former South Carolina sheriff’s lieutenant will spend over a year in prison for running a gambling operation. Chief South Carolina US District Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced Mark Edward Fuleihan to 12 months and a day in federal prison.
After the sentence is over, Fuleihan will be under court-ordered surveillance for three years. Fuleihan could have been sentenced to up to ten years. However, he initially pleaded guilty to running gambling in Williamsburg and Florence counties.
Fuleihan and nine defendants who pleaded guilty after the federal and state inquiry had dug deep into the illegal and gambling corruption. The federal and state investigators started looking into the matter after allegations emerged that gambling operators were being tipped off about law enforcement actions.
Fuleihan was arrested last year and was charged for operating illegal gambling, obstructing state law enforcement, and obstructing an official proceeding. Fuleihan also allegedly sold seized gaming machines back to illegal gambler operators.
Homeland Security special agent Ronnie Martinez chastised Fuleihan’s actions terming them as tarnishing the trust the public has towards the agency. Acting South Carolina US Attorney M. Rhett DeHart also condemned Fuleihan for bolstering criminal organizations.
