Thief Posing As Casino Lawyer Nets $750,000Ruse Follows Pattern Of Other Similar Crimes |
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A woman has been arrested by Las Vegas police after allegedly being part of a scam that stole $750,000 from Sam’s Town Casino last June.
Rosa Barria, 36, was taken into custody last week for allegedly taking part in the scheme. Authorities say that a supervisor in the casino cashier’s cage received a phone call on June 8 of last year from someone claiming to be the casino’s director of IT and to gather $750,000 in cash to pay for an upcoming delivery.
The employee also received text messages about the payment and delivery as well, according to police, claiming to be an attorney for the casino. The staff member even sent pictures of the bundles of cash at one point.
The employee later handed over the cash to a man and woman at a business location about eight miles away in North Las Vegas. After having second thoughts driving back to the casino, the employee told a superior “that she believed she may have just fallen for a scam,” according to court documents.
Allegedly Part Of Similar Theft
Police haven’t detailed Barria’s exact role in the case and whether she was the caller or not. She currently faces a theft charge and was identified after allegedly being part of a similar scam in September 2023. Police believe she may have been part of a larger group responsible for some of these types of scams.
In November, Erik Gutierrez Martinez pleaded guilty to one count of theft of more than $100,000 and received a suspended sentence for up to 96 months for his role in a scheme to steal $1.2 million form the Circa casino in a similar manner. Police believe he was also only a small part of a larger operation.
The ruse hasn’t been used only at Las Vegas casinos. Last July, a man was arrested for the theft of $700,000 from the Four Winds Casino in Michigan. A caller to the cage claimed to be a casino executive and an employee delivered cash to a location 85 miles away. Police were able to recover the cash at the man’s home, according to reports.
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