After he was indicted as a minor player in an alleged illegal gambling ring based in Northwest Indiana, a judge barred Andrew Nguyen, like most of the 21 other defendants, from gambling as a condition of his release.
Now, to make the case he should be allowed to resume his career as a video poker player, his lawyer disclosed in a court filing this week that Nguyen was also an extortion victim in the same case.
The revelation is part of an early picture starting to emerge of a tangled web of bookies, bettors and alleged, if ineffective, enforcers.
The 87-page indictment detailing the alleged gambling and extortion activity between January 2021 and April 2026 names James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos, 62, of Schererville, and Dean “Dean Gem” Gialamas, 61, of Naperville, as leaders of Gerodemos Gambling Organization — that allegedly ran an illegal gambling ring out of two longtime Northwest Indiana restaurants, Gino’s Steakhouse in Merrillville and Paragon in Hobart. All of the defendants pleaded not guilty to federal charges in a May 14 arraignment hearing.
When things went wrong and bettors owed money, those from the top attempted to lean on at least two men — Victim 1 and Victim 3 — to also try to get other people’s money back, filings show.
Nguyen’s lawyer Vadim Glozman declined comment. In a Thursday filing, he argued his client sent a single text to Gerodemos in February 2024, referencing bets placed several years earlier.
“He introduced individuals seeking to place bets,” the lawyer wrote. “That is the entirety of his alleged involvement.”
When Nguyen “fell behind” on his own gambling debts, “Gerodemos sent his threatening messages to collect others’ debt,” Glozman wrote.
Nguyen is listed as Victim 3, who owed about $7,500, which Gerodemos threatened to “get it one way or another,” records show.
“You a restaurant owner and a boss,” Nguyen replied in an April 2024 text exchange, “Crying over 7500?…Talking like this…Pathetic.”
Elsewhere, federal prosecutors, as expected, signaled last week they will likely seek a superseding RICO indictment. They also want Gialamas, a top operative, back in jail.
Gialamas was arrested while on vacation in Puerto Rico and later released. In a 66-page filing on May 22, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson argued that was a mistake, alleging he was “at least as egregious” as Gerodemos by “recruiting and financing” extortion efforts.
He alleged Gialamas was a flight risk and had more than $8 million in unexplained assets.
Gialamas’ lawyers Jonathan Bont and Jamie Hoxie Solano did not immediately respond to a request for comment. They filed for an extension to May 29 to respond, saying the allegations happened “several years ago.”
Both Gialamas and co-defendant Alexander Gagianas have a bond hearing on June 3.
In one incident, authorities allege Gialamas held Victim 1 and another man, Collector 1, partially responsible for another man — Bettor E — who dropped out of sight after he had lost $488,000.
Gialamas allegedly worked with a man then behind bars for wire fraud, Prisoner A, who enlisted an associate to help collect the money from Victim 1 and Collector 1. The accomplice lied to Victim 1, saying a “cartel” fronted Gialamas the money for Bettor E’s debts, saying Victim 1 owed $400,000 of it, filings state.
According to the May 22 filing, Victim 1 — a one-time bookie, who knew Gialamas for 30 years — said “two unidentified Hispanic males with tattoos” showed up at his Texas business on Nov. 30, 2023 asking for money.
Days later, on Dec. 2, 2023, he believed one of the Hispanic men called him, saying he would come back personally for the money. At that point, Victim 1 called federal law enforcement and a lawyer.
Victim 1 told the feds he spent a year in jail for a 2020 gambling conviction. He also believed Gialamas had an inside source in federal law enforcement who disclosed Victim 1 was being investigated prior to his 2020 conviction.
“I’m not sending anyone to see you or call you,” Gialamas later messaged Victim 1, referring to men’s visit to the business in late November. “I want the money you and (Collector 1) stole from me. Nothing more or less.”
“You talked to (Bettor E) and you vetted him and let him play,” Victim 1 later responded. “I said from the start I didn’t know him! … You should be using your time finding him, not sending people to my business and to (Collector 1’s home).”
“I never spoke to anyone,” Gialamas responded.
The filing also noted Gialamas won $250,000 in a Super Bowl “line poll card” from Gerodemos. It is not immediately clear if it was paid.
Like Gerodemos, Benson wrote, authorities collected an “evidentiary bonanza” from Gialamas’ iCloud account. Other evidence came from Victim 1’s federal law enforcement interviews, an undercover officer’s secret recordings, cell phone data, and bank accounts.
The feds wiretapped one of Gialamas’ phones back in spring 2023. By May, Gialamas signaled his frustration, saying he would let collectors get 10% of what they took from deadbeat gamblers.
“If you have to beat the (expletive) out of them, beat the (expletive) out of them. I don’t care anymore,” he said.
Also, co-defendant Basam Ibrahim’s attorney Kerry Connor filed for a new hearing to get him released. The government has opposed it.
