Cash Delivery: Inside The Spree Of Casino Cashier TheftsSchemes Have Taken Properties For Millions Of Dollars |
|
Most gamblers probably see casinos as impenetrable fortresses that protect cash and casino chips at all costs. There’s the infamous “eye in the sky” security camera system, numerous security guards, pit bosses on the lookout for cheaters and card counters, and bars at the cashier cage to keep potential crooks at bay.
However, a recent spree of casino scams has shown that these tight security measures can be overcome in some of the simplest ways by crafty con artists impersonating casino management. Quick phone calls and even text messages have led to bold criminals making off with millions of dollars in cash – right from the casino cage.
The Setup
Those who have seen the film Ocean’s Eleven may imagine elaborate plans in which crooks infiltrate the casino itself and then find a way to smuggle out large amounts of cash. Or maybe an armed robber uses firearms and force to grab the loot and then make off in a getaway car or on a motorcycle.
Instead, these thefts use a much simpler yet effective and well-planned scheme. In most cases, such as the one involving Erik Gutierrez Martinez last June, someone places a call to a casino cage and says they are an executive or official with the casino.
The person then requests a certain amount of cash to pay a government official or for some other urgent expense. The “executive” then asks an employee in the cage to deliver the cash at a location away from the casino, where someone will be waiting to collect the cash.
In the Martinez case, an employee from Circa Casino made three payments to locations around Las Vegas for a total of $1.2 million. Police believe he was also part of a similar scam at the Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite and the Golden Nugget in Laughlin. He eventually pleaded guilty and was given a suspended sentence of up to 96 months. Authorities believe he was working for a larger criminal organization.
Who would fall for something like that? More than you’d think.
It became such a worry for casinos in Las Vegas that the Nevada Gaming Control Board even issued warnings to casinos in the summer of 2023 letting them know about the scam and reminding cage employees to be vigilant about following protocols.
“Criminal subjects use social engineering tactics to pose as casino executives,” the notice read. “The cage scam is sophisticated and has been surprisingly effective in defrauding casinos. Subjects gain intelligence on high-level casino owners, employees, managers, and others connected to the casino’s money operations. The fraudsters then contact cage employees using a variety of scenarios to manipulate personnel based on a fear of negative consequences for casino employees and/or operations.”
The Latest
There have been several of these types of crimes over the last couple years. In March of last year, $500,000 was walked out of the Monarch Casino in Black Hawk, the largest casino heist in Colorado ever. The employee was originally charged with the crime, but all charges were dropped when prosecutors discovered she and her family had been threatened by the actual thieves into committing the crime.
Another case came in Michigan last July, when a man was arrested for stealing $700,000 from the Four Winds Casino. A caller to the cage claimed to be a casino executive and somehow convinced an employee to deliver the cash 85 miles away.
This month, Rosa Barria, 36, was taken into custody for allegedly being involved in a similar scheme at Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas. Someone posed as the casino’s lawyer and another as the casino’s director of IT to gather $750,000.
Just this week another case emerged in South Dakota. Roberto Carlos Gonzales Miranda and Roberto Orellana, both of Nebraska, were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit theft from a gaming establishment on Indian lands, and transportation of stolen money.
Law enforcement alleges someone phoned the cage at Grand River Casino posing as a collections agent for the U.S. Postal Service. The “collector” said the casino owed $700,000 in fees for an audit and inspection and would accrue additional fines if the payments weren’t made quickly. Federal officials say the employee took $352,000 to an accomplice in the scheme after later being directed to deliver the money in a parking lot.
As security consultant, convicted fraudster, and author of the book that inspired the film Catch Me If You Can, Frank W. Abagnale notes: “A con artist’s only weapon is his brain.”
*Images from Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
