Ben Crump Wins $779 Million Wrongful Death Verdict Against Florida Internet Café in Killing of Security Guard Lewis Butler

Widow to Call on Florida Lawmakers to Shut Down Illegal Internet-Gambling Cafés

QUINCY, Fla. (Dec. 8, 2025) — Attorney Ben Crump and Kimberly Butler, widow of Lewis Butler, will hold a news conference to address the $779,389,024.37 wrongful death verdict returned by a Gadsden County jury in the killing of her husband. Lewis Butler, a security guard, was shot during a 2023 armed robbery at a business identified as an internet café where illegal gambling was allegedly taking place in Havana, Florida. The case alleged that the café, operated by Fortune MGT 2023 LLC and Manishkumar Patel, failed to report a prior armed robbery on Oct. 25, 2023 and ignored known security risks, despite allegedly being aware that illegal gambling activity took place at the location.

The case centered on allegations that the business, operated by Fortune MGT 2023 LLC and Manishkumar Patel, was negligently run and failed to take basic safety steps after a prior gunpoint robbery at the same location on Oct. 25, 2023. According to a State Attorney’s Office investigator, a firearm was stolen from the property during the first robbery, and that same firearm was later used in the robbery in which Butler was killed while attempting to protect a cashier. The complaint further alleges that earlier robbery was not reported to law enforcement because it was allegedly known to the owners and managers that gambling took place at the café.

Attorney Crump and Mrs. Butler will speak about the verdict and the findings presented during the trial and call on legislators and the Florida Gaming Control Commission to increase the penalties and oversight for operating illegal-gambling cafés.

WHO:
Family of Lewis Butler
Attorney Ben Crump
State Representative Michele Rayner

WHEN:
Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 9 am ET

WHERE:
Outside the main entrance of the Leon County Courthouse
301 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301