Michigan casino employee found guilty, must pay back $84,000 in stolen money
A former worker at Michigan's Gun Lake Casino who stole more than $84,000 after stuffing currency into machines was sentenced this week to four months in prison.
Michigan federal judge Jane Beckering said Jordan Lewis Cook, 26, of Hopkins, Michigan, must also pay $84,564 in "restitution" to the casino. To make up for the money he stole.
He was sentenced to two years of supervision after his release from prison, according to the sentence announced Wednesday in a Grand Rapids, Mich., court.
Currency has been blocked
As part of his job, Cook was responsible for clearing clogged currency that casino players inserted into payment machines. These devices are located at information kiosks throughout the casino. Wrinkled or incorrectly inserted bills can sometimes cause machine jams.
The thefts occurred between September 2021 and November 2022. Prosecutors said Cook stole cash at least 32 times over a 14-month period. The amount he stole in each incident ranged from $272 to $9,040.
Prosecutors said an internal audit uncovered the misconduct and that Cook could be seen on "surveillance video" taking the money. Last March, he was arrested for stealing from a Native American tribal organization.
Cook faces up to five years in prison for the incident at a gambling establishment in Wayland, Michigan. In September, U.S. Judge Ray Kent approved a settlement.
Buy a Truck
Investigators revealed that Cook deposited the stolen money into his personal bank account at Lake Michigan Credit Union. Prosecutors said he used some of the ill-gotten gains to buy a used Chevrolet pickup truck.
gentlemen. "Cook's behavior was completely out of character for him," Cook's attorney, Jessica E. LaFond, said in a court filing, Michigan TV station WOOD reported. This will never happen again."
But prosecutors pointed to his guilt.
"The defendant is in a position of trust," Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Lane said in a separate court filing.
"This case reflects my office's strong commitment to working with tribal leadership and law enforcement to prosecute crimes committed on tribal lands, including theft from tribal businesses," said Mark A. Totten, U.S. Attorney for Western Michigan District said in a statement. “Together we will hold criminals accountable for their wrongdoing.”
Gun Lake Casino is operated by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians. It has over 2,500 slot machines. Gun Lake Casino is located about 20 miles south of Grand Rapids.
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Source: www.casino.org
