Former state representative Sean Eberhart has pleaded guilty to a fraud charge related to a casino corruption scheme. The 57-year-old admitted to supporting a bill favouring a casino in exchange for promises of lucrative employment in the future.
Eberhart was charged with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, a crime that can include accepting bribes or kickbacks related to one's public service.
The offense carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine.
Casino Corruption
The charges stem from Eberhart's tenure as a lawmaker when he accepted a job opportunity with a major gaming company in exchange for his legislative support of a bill to relocate two casinos from Lake Michigan to areas beneficial to Spectacle Entertainment.
The unidentified owner at Spectacle offered Eberhart a job at the company with a salary of $350,000.
Eberhart was a member of the House Public Policy Committee, which heard the bill, until his retirement last year.
Due to Eberhart's intervention, transfer fees for moving the casinos were reduced from $100 million to $20 million and included beneficial tax incentives — a win for Spectacle, which wanted to move the casinos to Terre Haute and Gary.
The case has had significant repercussions for the casino company, which has been the subject of several federal investigations in recent years.
In 2022, long-time casino executive John Keeler was sentenced, along with former Indiana state Sen. Brent Waltz, for their role in a scheme to illegally funnel gambling money into the lawmaker’s unsuccessful 2016 bid for congress.
The sentencing for Eberhart will follow at an unspecified date. Prosecutors and Eberhart’s attorneys have not agreed on a recommended sentence but did settle on $60,000 in restitution — Eberhart’s salary as an elected official.
The case has cast a shadow over Indiana's political landscape and has raised questions about the integrity of the state's legislative process. It has also had a significant impact on the state's gaming industry, with further gambling expansion in 2024 now seen as nearly impossible.