The Scam Artists Hit Borgata, Revel Casino, Caesars, Bally’s, Showboat, and Trump Taj Mahal
Forty-Six people have been arrested in an alleged conspiracy to cheat a local bank through a cash advance scam. Those people are said to have used six local casinos as a lynch pin in the criminal conspiracy. The group of people, said to be New Yorkers, are charged with charged with conspiracy, theft, and money laundering.
The people are accused of exploiting a cash advance policy at TD Bank to rob the financial institution of some $204,791 in cash. They people then withdraw funds at the Borgata, Revel Casino, Caesars Atlantic City, and Bally’s Resort, along with the now-closed Showboat and Trump Taj Mahal.
The alleged crimes are thought to occurred over an 11-month period from May 2012 until April 2013. At that time, TD Bank had a policy which assured same-day availability on checks deposited.
The 46 people opened up accounts with TD Bank, in each case with an initial deposit between $50 and $2000. The day after they opened these accounts, the new bank customers would write hot checks for between $4,800 and $5,400, then deposit these checks into their TD Bank account.
Global Cash Access at the Casinos
Next, the people would make “Global Cash Access” transactions at one of six different Atlantic City casinos. Using this method, the people could use the fast service of the TD Bank policy to withdraw funds, while using the relative anonymity of the cash withdrawal process at the various casinos to get away with thousands of dollars in cash. Atlantic City casinos, like all gaming establishments, handle massive amounts of cash transactions any given day, so they are a perfect spot for money laundering and other financial skullduggery.
Axel Fuentes Alleged the Ringleader
Axel Fuentes, a 53-year old man from of the Bronx, is alleged to be the ringleader of the operation. Mr. Fuentes is accused of making fraudulent deposits of 26 out of 45 bank accounts. Those deposits totalled $136,650 out of the $200 thousand or roughly 68% of the money collected. Prosecutors also suspect Axel Fuentes recruited the others into the conspiracy.
Hoffman Describes It As “Highly-Organized”
Acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman says the fraudulent activity was no small matter, and those involved were part of a rather ingenious plot to rob TB Bank, whose corporate headquarters are in New Jersey and Maine. He said that scam artists often find clever ways to take advantage of the ill-considered policies adopted by financial institutions.
Hoffman said, “These alleged crimes were highly-organized in their exploitation of a policy designed to make bank customers’ funds available quickly for their use. We know that financial criminals will seek to exploit any perceived weakness in safeguards to steal, and because of that we will continue our focus on these types of scams to ensure the financial security of our casinos and banks remains solid.”
Punishments for the Crimes
The many defendants in the case face up to 10 years in prison and fines of $150,000. Neither financial institutions nor casinos like people using their policies to steal money and the laws of New Jersey are punitive when it comes to financial scams.
In such a case, Alex Fuentes is almost certain to face multiple accusers. With so many defendants, someone is certain to provide the information needed to convict the ringleader–if in fact Fuentes is the one who masterminded the scheme.
List of Accused Fraudsters
The list of accused members of the financial conspiracy, besides Mr. Fuentes, includes the following people, listed in order of age, beginning with those in their twenties:
Roberto Diaz, 23; Brandon Brodnick, 24; Brian Cruz Santana, 24; Olga Rivera, 24; Roberto Perez, 24; Israel Cintron, 24; Stephanie Urena Gonzalez, 24; Henry Fernandez, 25; David Jenkins, 25; Alberto Resto, 25; Mitchel Liriano, 25; Andrew Molina, 26; Vanessa Perez, 26; Javier Leonardo, 26; Bianca Santana, 26; Abel Ramos, 26; Tatiana Rodriguez, 27; Rashaad Brazier, 27; Jessenia Gonzalez, 27; Madonna Zapata, 28; Krystal Diaz, 28; Raymond Goita, 29; Willin Balbuen, 29.
Twenty-three of the New York suspects in their 20s are alleged to have been involved in the conspiracy. The remaining people involved is listed below, also in chronological order:
Maria Victoria Ortiz, 30; Rosa Sanchez, 30; Jesus Suarez, 30; Miguel Cabrera, 30; Juan Lopez, Jr., 31; Brendali Rivera, 33; Julia Suarez, 34; Gloryann Torres, 34; David Serrano, 34; Diane Morales, 37; Matilda Suarez, 38; Luis Gonzalez Carmona, 38; Wilfredo Dejesus, 39; Juan Mercado, 40; Reinaldo Roman, 41; Edil Rosas, 47; Lourdes Salcedo, 50; Maria Torres, 51.; Nuris Gomez, 51; Jose Lopez, 55; and Edwin Gonzalez, 68.
Hector Saliva of the Bronx also is listed as a defendant, though his age was not provided. It should be mentioned there is no indication the money collected by Alex Fuentes and his alleged cohorts was used for gambling purposes. The casinos appear to have been a simple target of opportunity, due to the high number of financial transactions they process in a day.
