Feds charge man for role in $700K Michigan casino heist
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A man is facing federal fraud charges after allegedly scamming a Michigan casino out of $700,000.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that Jesus Gaytan-Garcia has been charged in a criminal complaint with theft from the Hartford location of the Four Winds Casino, which is owned and operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
“The amount of money involved in this theft is extraordinary,” said U.S. Attorney Totten. “Unfortunately, instances of telephone scams at casinos are on the rise across the country, impacting both tribal and commercial gaming operations. Thanks to the dedicated, joint investigation of Pokagon Tribal police and the FBI, we were able to identify and arrest one of the perpetrators of this scheme that targeted the Hartford Four Winds Casino.”
The complaint alleges that on July 30, 2023, a call came into the Hartford Four Winds Casino. The caller falsely claimed that he was the tribal chairperson and needed funds to make an urgent payment. A Casino supervisory employee, apparently duped by the caller’s fraudulent claims, gathered up $700,000 in cash and walked out of the Casino. At the direction of the caller, the employee transported the cash to a gas station in Gary, Indiana, where the employee then handed the cash over two unknown individuals.
After a months-long investigation, the FBI and Pokagon Tribal Police were able to identify Jesus Gaytan-Garcia as one of the individuals the Casino employee met at the gas station and gave the $700,000. Investigators conducted a search of Mr. Gaytan-Garcia’s home, where they located a bundle of cash still wrapped in a paper band which was stamped with the word “Hartford,” the location of the victimized Four Winds Casino, and the exact date of the theft, July 30, 2023.
Mr. Gaytan-Garcia was taken into custody four days later.
