Two arrested for alleged sham business, promoting gambling out of smoke shop

RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) – Richmond police arrested two employees at the Richmond Smoke Tobacco Outlet around 2 a.m. Wednesday.

They are both facing felony charges of operating a sham or front company and promoting gambling.

The Richmond Smoke Tobacco Outlet’s sign says they sell cigarettes, sodas and vapes, but Richmond Police say a secret back room suggests the sign should have also said gambling.

“Inside that room, officers found people actually there engaging on seven different machines,” said Chief Rodney Richardson of the Richmond Police Department. “We have seen similar type of cases in the past, but nothing like this. Nothing as large as this.”

Chief Richardson said someone who had won several thousands of dollars from the back room in the past had lost about that much money this past Tuesday. By the early morning hours of Wednesday, officers were inside 717 Big Hill Ave.

“He felt as if they were being unfair and he was being cheated, so he contacted police,” said Chief Richardson. “That’s when our officers arrived and discovered what was actually inside the business.”

Both Maheshkumar Patel and Kirankumar Patel are facing felony counts; they were both charged with operating a sham or front company and promoting gambling in the first degree. Kirankumar also faces 10 counts of tampering with physical evidence and seven counts of possession of a gambling device.

“There were several occasions that the individual either erased data, tried to remove data, or tried to remove actual evidence from that location to prevent officers from finding it,” said Chief Richardson.

Chief Richardson said the charges could bring jail time, and he is worried about what he says is the upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars that have passed through the secret back room.

“If you walk into a business and there’s a secret room and only certain people are allowed back there, that’s a clue and that’s something that I would be very aware of and be cautious about,” he said.

Chief Richardson encourages anyone with any information about the case to contact the Richmond Police Department.

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