Florida State Attorney Bill Gladson has filed charges in a RICO lawsuit involving a $24m illegal gambling operation in Sumter County that preyed on senior citizens.
According to a news release from the Florida State Attorney’s Office Fifth Judicial Circuit (FLSA05), Gladson and Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) Director Carl Herold announced on Friday the charges against three individuals arrested in July and September, sharing the news on X:
Lead-up to arrests of the illegal operations’ staff, including CEO Rima Ray, 44, business manager Terrance Morgan, 69, and assistant manager Barbara Buzzard, 67, began in February 2025.
Multiple complaints led investigators to IL Villagio Senior Entertainment Center in Lady Lake, which the residents described as: “a local version of the Hard Rock Casino.”
Undercover FGCC agents subsequently found the center operating as an illicit gambling establishment with slot-style machines. A search warrant was executed on the premises on July 15 with law enforcement seizing $348,221 in cash and 190 slot machines.
pocketed almost $3m of the funds directly into her personal account
According to the FLSA05, investigators found that from January 2023 to July 2025, over $24m passed through accounts linked to illegal gambling. Ray, who reported less than $20,000 in annual income, pocketed almost $3m of the funds directly into her personal account.
Florida charged Ray and the other two suspects with multiple felonies, including RICO, money laundering, and possessing slot machines. Real money slots and other gambling verticals are still illegal in Florida outside of tribal casinos.
Gladson stated the operation was “lucrative and highly illegal” and preyed on “some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”
