California Man Who Survived Escazú Shooting Jailed in U.S. Gambling and Tax Case

A California businessman who narrowly survived a targeted shooting in Costa Rica more than a decade ago is now headed to federal prison after admitting to operating an illegal gambling business that prosecutors say used Costa Rica as its base while taking bets from customers in the United States.

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Jason Noah Feinman, 52, of Calabasas, was sentenced on June 9 to 27 months in federal prison by a judge in Los Angeles. After pleading guilty earlier this year, he was convicted of tax evasion, operating an illegal gambling business, and money laundering. Alongside the prison term, the court ordered him to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution, imposed a $150,000 fine, and required interest on the financial penalties.

Federal prosecutors described the operation as a business-to-business betting platform rather than a sportsbook serving gamblers directly. The Costa Rica-based website supplied unlicensed bookmakers with the technology needed to accept wagers, including bets placed by people living in California, where the activity violated both state and federal law. Court records do not identify the name of the company behind the platform.

Money laundering scheme centered on cash-for-check exchanges

The financial side of the business ultimately became central to the case. Prosecutors said Feinman routinely converted large amounts of cash into checks written to himself or companies under his control, disguising the origin of gambling proceeds before they entered the banking system.

Investigators focused on one customer in particular. Between May 2018 and January 2024, Feinman allegedly exchanged more than $1.5 million in cash for 18 checks carrying roughly the same value. One payment alone totaled $200,000. The individual involved appears in court filings only as C.K., while many of the checks referenced loans in their memo lines. Authorities estimated that over the life of the operation Feinman converted between $1.5 million and $3.5 million in cash through similar transactions.

Tax investigation uncovered millions in unreported income

The gambling investigation uncovered a parallel tax case. According to the Justice Department, Feinman reported no taxable income on his 2020 federal return despite earning approximately $1.8 million that year. Over a five-year period, prosecutors concluded he failed to report about $4.2 million in income, leaving the U.S. government short roughly $1.52 million in unpaid taxes.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, while attorneys from the Justice Department’s Tax Section handled the prosecution.

Shooting in Escazú remains unresolved

For Costa Rica, Feinman’s name has been familiar for reasons unrelated to gambling.

In 2015 he survived an attempted assassination outside a café in Escazú after gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire as he left a parking lot. He was struck nine times but lived. Costa Rican authorities later prosecuted Ricardo Francisco Solís Méndez and Steven Javier Calvo Sánchez for attempted homicide, with the case relying heavily on Feinman’s repeated identification of the alleged attackers.

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The trial produced few additional eyewitness details. Two parking attendants acknowledged hearing the shooting but offered little useful testimony, with one indicating concern for his family’s safety. Although Feinman’s attorney at the time said investigators hoped to determine who ordered the attack, that question was never answered publicly.

Part of a broader crackdown on Costa Rica-linked betting operations

His prosecution also fits a broader pattern emerging from recent federal cases tied to Costa Rica’s offshore betting industry.

In October 2025, Christopher Scott King of Santa Monica received a 21-month prison sentence after admitting he operated an unlicensed sports betting business that relied on a Costa Rica-based platform to accept wagers from California customers. Prosecutors alleged he concealed $13.6 million in income from the IRS and laundered gambling proceeds through real estate projects and gold purchases. He forfeited $10 million and was ordered to repay $3.8 million in taxes.

Another prominent case involved Orange County bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, who pleaded guilty after authorities said his organization processed bets through Costa Rican betting websites and casino agents. Among the operation’s clients was Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, who authorities said placed roughly 19,000 wagers through the network.

Costa Rica remains the operational hub, but U.S. law follows the money

Taken together, the cases point to a recurring business model. Operators establish technology and support services in Costa Rica, where offshore betting aimed at foreign customers has long existed in a relatively permissive legal environment. The bets themselves may originate in U.S. states where the activity is illegal, leaving participants exposed to American criminal law regardless of where the servers or support staff are located.

Federal investigators have repeatedly shown that the gambling operation is often only part of the case. The decisive evidence tends to emerge once proceeds move into the financial system, whether through checks, property purchases, precious metals, or other transactions that leave a documented trail.

For the many international businesses connected to Costa Rica’s online gaming and customer service sectors, those prosecutions reinforce an important distinction. Operating from Costa Rica does not insulate a company from U.S. enforcement when its customers are in the United States. Recent federal sentencings suggest prosecutors are increasingly focused on tracing gambling proceeds across borders and holding operators accountable once the money enters regulated financial channels.

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Source: ticotimes.net