Manager accused of theft and fraud at casino

A man in Louisiana recently reached a plea deal after facing charges of theft as well as white collar crime. Specifically, he has been accused of fraud. The man facing charges was a casino general manager.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after he and a chief financial officer were taken into custody on multiple criminal charges. The arrests took place following an internal investigation that Louisiana’s Chitimacha Tribe conducted. State troopers also conducted an investigation that helped lead to the arrests.

The investigation started when the gaming unit with the Louisiana State Police got a complaint from the tribe in January about how senior management at the casino might have committed a crime. Investigators learned that the general manager had reportedly manipulated the personnel database at the business. This was allegedly done to show that a previous employee was still active and qualified to get a $5,700 annual bonus. These funds ended up being deposited into the previous employee’s bank account.

Police said the man also had the employee’s name taken out of the database and had the fund transfer concealed. The chief financial officer at the casino is said to have carried out this task. This officer is also the one who allegedly reactivated the previous employee in the company database so that the bonus payment could be processed.Anyone accused of fraud in Louisiana is presumed innocent until and unless proved guilty in court. Rather than proceeding to trial to fight the charge, the defendant has the option of seeking to negotiate a plea deal with the prosecution. A plea agreement may lead to a lighter sentence than what would be rendered at trial if a guilty is secured.

Source: klfy.com, “General Manager at Cypress Bayou Casino fired on theft, fraud charges; Tribe issues statement”, Oct. 5, 2016