The Theft of $700K from Four Winds Casino Results in Arrest
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A man is accused of stealing $700,000 earlier this year from Hartford’s Four Winds Casino.
Following his arrest last week, Jesus Gaytan-Garcia was accused of taking part in a scheme to embezzle funds from the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ casino.
Gaytan-Garcia, 43, is charged with contacting the casino while pretending to be the chairwoman of a tribe. This resulted in an embezzlement accusation against a Four Winds staff member who took $700,000 in cash out of the casino back in July.
Authorities Discover Stolen Money in Gaytan-Garcia’s Residence
Last Monday, authorities filed a federal lawsuit against Gaytan-Garcia. He faces accusations of stealing and embezzling money from a tribe. He might spend up to five years behind bars.
According to investigators, on July 30, Gaytan-Garcia called Four Winds Hartford pretending to be the chairwoman of the tribe. Then, stating that he required the money for an urgent problem, he gave an employee instructions to withdraw $700,000 from the casino and bring it to him in Gary, IN.
Two persons that day received the money, one of them is thought to be Gaytan-Garcia.
Together, FBI investigators and Pokagon Tribal Police identified Gaytan-Garcia as the main suspect.
When officials raided his Chicago residence last week, they found a bundle of cash sealed in a paper band with the mark “Hartford.” The date of the purported theft was included on the stamp.
Four days later the culprit was taken into custody.
The amount of money involved in this heist is unprecedented, according to a news statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten.
He said that phone frauds at casinos are becoming more common nationwide, affecting both commercial and tribal gambling enterprises. One of the perpetrators of this fraud, which targeted the Hartford Four Winds Casino, was identified and apprehended by Pokagon Tribal police and the FBI, thanks to their diligent and cooperative investigation.
