Woman's conviction overturned in Waterloo casino appeal
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WATERLOO — The Iowa Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a Cedar Rapids woman accused of helping her boyfriend avoid child support obligations and unpaid fines after winning a slot machine jackpot in Waterloo in 2020.
A Black Hawk County jury found Sydney Leiann Slaughter, 35, guilty of false claim of winning during a 2022 trial.
Slaughter had been at the Isle Casino Hotel in Waterloo with Anthony McNeese in November 2020. Prosecutors said McNeese scored a $4,000 slot machine jackpot. But he had $1,300 in unpaid child support obligations and $41,000 in fines – called “offsets” – which would have eaten into his winnings, according to court records.
When casino staff came to confirm the jackpot, Slaughter claimed she had been playing the machine and indicated she wanted 95% of the winnings to be withheld for her federal income tax.
Workers then reviewed surveillance camera footage and Slaughter allegedly admitted McNeese had been playing, according to court records. McNeese then claimed the jackpot and applied 95% to his federal income tax, records state.
Following the guilty verdict, Slaughter’s attorneys argued that the conduct that followed the jackpot – passing off or sharing a win to avoid paying offsets – wasn’t specifically prohibited by Iowa law until 2022, which was two years after the incident.
The law at the time applied to attempts to claim a win to defraud the casino or the actual winner, the defense argued.
The Iowa Court of Appeals turned down that argument but found that the state failed to prove that Slaughter didn’t make the wager that led to the jackpot.
“While Slaughter admitted to casino staff that she did not push the button for the jackpot, the state presented no evidence of whose money went into the machine. On this record, we find reasonable doubt that Slaughter did not make a wager contingent on winning at the slot machine,” states the opinion written by Judge Mary Tabor.
The ruling notes surveillance video showed the two appeared to be gambling in tandem, standing at the same machines, and digging into pockets and purses to make wagers.
The Court of Appeals also found that the trial court shouldn’t have allowed a DCI agent to testify the act of making a wager was limited to pressing the button on a slot machine.
The ruling directed the case back to the district court for a judgment of acquittal.
Appeals Court Judge Sharon Soorholtz Greer authored a dissenting opinion in the case, stating there was enough evidence to reach a guilty verdict.
McNeese pleaded guilty to false claim of winnings during a 2021 hearing and was sentenced to probation.
