The Southern District of California, which prosecuted the case, said the settlement with Wynn Las Vegas (WLV) is considered the largest forfeiture by a casino based on admissions of criminal wrongdoing.
The total value of the confiscation is US$130,131,645 (€117.3 million/£99.0 million).
Casino makes deal to avoid lawsuit
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wynn made a deal to avoid criminal prosecution. WLV admitted that it illegally used unregistered money transmission companies to circumvent the conventional financial system.
Prosecutors presented a series of illegal activities permitted by WLV that sometimes involved employees of the group. Among them:
- An opaque network of agents and payments used to circumvent laws in the US and abroad, in Latin America and China.
- An independent agent completed more than 200 transfers worth more than $17 million.
“Casinos, like all businesses, will be held accountable when they allow customers to circumvent U.S. laws in the name of profit,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath.
“Federal oversight seeks to prevent illegal funds from tarnishing legitimate businesses by ensuring that casinos provide a clean, thriving and safe entertainment option.”
As part of that investigation, 15 other defendants previously admitted to money laundering, unlicensed money transmission or other crimes. The penalties for these crimes are more than $7.5 million.
How Wynn Las Vegas broke US financial laws
Among the allegations presented by prosecutors, WLV regularly hired third-party agents who acted as unlicensed money transmission companies. These agents recruited foreign gamblers.
Then, independent agents transferred bettors’ funds through companies, bank accounts, or named third parties in Latin America. Ultimately, WLV funneled the funds to a bank account under its control in the Southern District of California. At that point, bettors could use the funds.
Prosecutors also found evidence that the company facilitated the unlicensed transfer of money through “Human Head” or “Human Hat” games.
Thus, in this scheme, a person known as “Human Head” bought chips and played as a proxy. The proxy played for someone who could not or would not carry out financial transactions or gamble under their own identity.
Evidence indicates that WLV allowed transactions with people it knew had convictions for financial crimes. In other words, WLV did not report transactions involving millions of dollars from an individual who had spent six years in prison in China.
Authorities arrested the person for carrying out unauthorized international monetary transactions and violating several financial laws. In 2018, WLV facilitated financial transactions worth approximately $1.4 million for an individual who was denied entry into the US.
“Federal laws regulating the reporting of financial transactions exist to detect and prevent illegal activity,” said Carissa Messick, special agent in charge of IRS-CI in Las Vegas, via a press release.
“Deliberately avoiding the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act is a form of money laundering.”
