Southbay Casino Fined for Protecting, Concealing High Rollers' Winnings

The operator of the Normandie Casino in Gardena agreed Friday to plead guilty to federal charges of concealing the winnings of selected high-rollers and failing to take steps to prevent money laundering.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Normandie Club violated federal law that requires casinos to implement programs designed to prevent criminals from using the casinos to launder large amounts of money. Prosecutors noted that casinos must report transactions involving more than $10,000 by any one gambler in a 24-hour period.

As part of the plea agreement, however, the Normandie Club admitted using promoters to lure high-rollers to the casino, then failing to notify the government about large sums of money they would bring to gamble. The casino would also structure transactions so they appeared to be less than $10,000, or it would simply fail to record large transactions.

Federal prosecutors said that during a six-week period in 2013, a single person won more than $1 million at the casino, which conspired to conceal the gambler’s identity.

“The United States has an array of anti-money-laundering statutes designed to prevent criminals from using the American financial system to launder the large sums of cash generated by illegal activity such as organized crime.” U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said. “Casinos that fail to follow these rules are particularly vulnerable to criminals who seek to disguise illegal cash as gambling winnings.”

Under the plea agreement, Normandie Club is expected to pay $1 million in fines and forfeit nearly $1.4 million it admitted receiving in 2013 without filing required transaction reports, according to prosecutors.

--City News Service, photo via Pixabay