Ohio Social Studies Teacher Moonlighted as Illegal Gambling Kingpin

Posted on: May 1, 2025, 05:06h. 

Last updated on: May 1, 2025, 05:06h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Vermilion High School teacher indicted on 23 felony counts, including money laundering and illegal gambling.
  • Prosecutors allege use of shell companies to run unlicensed gaming machines and illegal bingo.
  • If convicted, Edmison could face up to 11 years in prison on the most serious charge.

A social studies high school teacher from Vermilion, Ohio, is accused of running an illegal gambling operation that involved a network of unlicensed gaming machines, illegal bingo games, and money laundering.

Kristina Edmison, Ohio gambling charges, illegal bingo, social studies teacher indicted, Ohio slot machine ring, money laundering, Vermilion High School, Cuyahoga County grand jury, nonprofit fraud, RICO Ohio
Kristina Edmison, a teacher at Vermilion High School, faces 23 criminal charges tied to an alleged illegal gambling ring. If convicted, she could face up to 11 years in prison. (Image: Vermilion Daily)

Kristina Edmison, 47, is a teacher at Vermilion High School. She was indicted on March 21 by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on 23 criminal charges, including felony counts of gambling, money laundering, and corruption, Vermilion Daily reports.

Edmison and co-defendants Lee Edmison Jr. and Lee Edmison III used shell companies and bogus nonprofit affiliations to operate under the radar, according to the indictment. Some of the nonprofits the trio falsely claimed to have ties with included the Ohio Junior Hockey Association and the Medina Youth Baseball Association.

This was designed to create the illusion that they offered legitimate charitable gaming while concealing the profits of illegal gambling. Live bingo games are only permissible in Ohio if they are hosted by charitable or educational organizations and religious groups that have a permit from the attorney general’s office.

‘Corrupt Activity’

The gang also ran a network of illegal electronic bingo machines stationed in at least 13 bars across Northeast Ohio, using three business names: Modern Music & Games, K Zip Services and Repairs, and LJ Modern Properties LLC, according to the indictment.

“The defendants and their agents were solely responsible for providing, maintaining and servicing those electronic gambling machines,” the indictment reads.

Charges against all three include engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony and Ohio’s version of a RICO charge, which was enacted to prosecute organized crime syndicates.

Vermilion Local Schools superintendent Dr. David Hile wrote to Edmison on April 15 to tell her she would be relieved of her duties on full pay pending the outcome of the investigation, according to Fox 8 News.

He told her the allegations, if true, meant that “you failed to maintain the dignity of your profession and to comport yourself in an ethical and lawful manner,” while emphasizing she was innocent until proven guilty.

Cash, Vehicles Seized

Authorities are seeking to seize $33K in cash across seven bank accounts, plus vehicles and real estate, allegedly connected to the gambling ring.

If convicted on the most serious charge, corrupt activity, Edmison could face up to 11 years in prison. She has pleaded not guilty.