Owner of alleged gambling den inside San Francisco Tenderloin market ordered to pay $150K
The owner of a San Francisco Tenderloin market has been ordered to pay over $150,000 for running an illegal gambling and drug operation.Summary
The owner of a shuttered corner store in San Francisco's Tenderloin has been ordered to pay over $151,000 in penalties for allegedly running an illegal drug and gambling den. City Attorney David Chiu's office announced Monday that the city prevailed in its lawsuit against Mohsen Mused, who operated the Tenderloin Market and Deli at 200 Leavenworth Street. The store, in business since 2013, was evicted on Aug. 26.
According to Chiu's office, San Francisco police responded to dozens of calls in or around the market since 2020, ranging from drug use to fights, stabbings, robberies, dice games on the street, stolen vehicles, domestic violence, weapons and other criminal behavior. In 2024, police officers said they saw patrons playing slot machines at the market. Officers executed a search warrant, seizing seven slot machines, a loaded firearm, more than $6,100 in cash and a money counting machine. Authorities said the market sold drug paraphernalia in plain view to minors, including items used to smoke methamphetamine and crack cocaine.
That October, the City Attorney's Office sued the owners, alleging the store created a public nuisance, engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices, violated the California Gambling Control Act and the Red Light Abatement Act, along with other state and local laws. Chiu's office said the store owner continued to violate the law. In June, police said a tobacco inspection yielded illegal tobacco products, drug paraphernalia and prescriptions. Police also received a report by a man who said he lost money on an app he used to gamble at the store.
Along with ordering Mused to pay $151,000 in penalties, the court also barred him from possessing gambling machines or drug paraphernalia at his two other stores in the city. Chiu's office said they have sued or shut down 13 stores in the Tenderloin for violations of the city's nighttime safety ordinance or other illegal activity, and the city has ongoing lawsuits against seven other markets in the Tenderloin.
(Source：Kion Central Coast)