Former Casino Employee Indicted for Money Laundering

Many slot machines give out free spins as a bonus reward for players. Whether at a land-based casino or online machines will often reward both new and faithful players with the hopes of keeping them playing for as long as possible. As long as those free spins are coming from a verified casino, players can trust that a potential win on a free spin is just as valid as one made on a deposit of their own. Not so, however, if those free spins are coming from a less than reputable source.

According to World Casino Directory News, a former casino worker has just been indicted by U.S. authorities for giving out free slot play. Ashley Brosius, a former player-coordinator at Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos, was indicted for a money laundering conspiracy by the U.S. Attorney for Pennsylvania’s Middle District. Brosius stole names and personal identification numbers from player’s club cards and used this information to create copies of the players’ club cards. Brosius then allegedly loaded the false duplicate cards with free slot play for gaming at the casino’s slots. Upstanding players need not worry about accepting free spins from unscrupulous casino workers.

In order to keep any fraudulent winnings for herself, Brosius worked with a co-conspirator, who at this time remains unindicted. The unnamed co-conspirator helped Brosius create the fraudulent cards, and was also the only one to use them for free slots play. According to news reports, Brosius began her scheme in November of 2014 and continued for a year, winning $140,000 from the illegal slots play over that period. Both the Pennsylvania State Police and the IRS were responsible for investigating the case. According to the U.S. Attorney involved in the case, Brosius could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as well as a $500,000 fine.

This is not the first time a case like this has been seen in Pennsylvania. A former casino executive at the Mohegan Sun Pocono received a 32-month prison sentence in June for his part in a similar card duplicating fraud scheme. Robert Pellegrini, the convicted executive, will also be required to make $420,147 in restitution payments following his release for the winnings illegally gained by his scheme.