The Federal Appeals Court of Mar del Plata has upheld charges against 13 people accused of belonging to a criminal organization that operated unauthorized online gambling sites and laundered the proceeds of the operation.
The ruling upholds charges first issued in December by Judge Santiago Inchausti of Federal Court No. 3. Judges Alejandro Tazza and Eduardo Jiménez rejected defense arguments alleging procedural nullities, insufficient evidence and lack of participation by some defendants.
The case dates back to November, when raids dismantled illegal online casinos operating from the Rumencó gated community near Mar del Plata.
Prosecutors allege the organization operated continuously since 2020 across three interconnected groups, the "Saraco" and "Pinarello" subgroups and the "Di Julio Andrade" group, the latter tied to an earlier case in the same investigation that resulted in indictments confirmed in 2024.
According to the court, the groups ran gambling sites under the "casino365" brand, using variations including casino365online.net, casino365online.pro and casino365online.eu.
To move funds, the defendants allegedly used financial mules and dispersed money across digital wallets, including Mercado Pago, Brubank, Ualá, Open Bank, Reba, Naranja X and Belo, accounts often opened in the names of vulnerable individuals.
Investigators say the group used smurfing, splitting transactions into small amounts to avoid triggering anti-money laundering controls.
Guillermo Pinarello, described as a professional poker player, is accused of leading one of the subgroups and maintaining ties to the other two. Investigators said equipment seized at his home in November showed open casino and poker tabs under an administrator account, with platforms and a server shutting down remotely as authorities entered.
The court found the funds were channeled through companies including Web Ones SA, Tecno Best Price SAS and Bitnea SA, and the associated business Dgamers, before being used to purchase vehicles, property and other assets that investigators say were not justified by the defendants' declared income.
Investigators say illicit proceeds were used to acquire high-end vehicles, real estate and other assets registered to front men or the defendants themselves, with no justification in their tax filings
