San Francisco, California - Bar Shani, 27, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between October 2016 and November 2017, Shani conspired to launder the cash proceeds of an illegal gambling business run by Orel Gohar, 28, of San Francisco, and Yaniv Gohar, 35, of Berkeley, that placed and maintained video slot machines at businesses in Northern California, including Sacramento and other locations in the Eastern District of California.

According to court documents, Shani conspired with Atir Dadon, 34, of Sherman Oaks, and Orel Gohar to launder the proceeds of the gambling business. They agreed that Shani and Dadon would take the cash from the gambling business and use it to pay the workers in their cosmetics business. In exchange, Shani and Dadon would arrange for Orel Gohar to receive checks from the cosmetics business. Dadon indicated in the memo lines on the checks that Orel Gohar had provided consulting and training services when in fact, he had not. They used code words in their conversations about the transactions, referring to the money as bottles of alcohol or other non-cash items. Between October 2016 and November 2017, Shani and Dadon laundered over $150,000 from the Gohars’ gambling business. Dadon pleaded guilty on April 5.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Department of Justice – Bureau of Gambling Control. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew M. Yelovich and Miriam R. Hinman are prosecuting the case.

Yaniv Gohar and Orel Gohar fled the United States after their arrest in December 2017 and remain at large. Anyone with information about their whereabouts should call the FBI at (916) 746-7000.

Charges are pending against co‑defendants Adam Atari, 35, of Sherman Oaks; Raz Razla, 48, of Sherman Oaks; and Eran Buhbut, 33, of Oakland. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Shani and Dadon are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on July 12. They face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved, whichever is greater. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.