By TopTrendReportTv
January 26, 2025
Chicago Man Convicted of Stealing $700,000 from Michigan Tribal Casino
CHICAGO — A federal jury has convicted a Chicago man of stealing $700,000 from a Potawatomi Indian casino in Michigan by deceiving an employee into handing over the money. Jesus Gaytan-Garcia, 44, was found guilty of aiding and abetting interstate transportation of stolen property and theft from an Indian tribal organization. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25 in Kalamazoo.
The scheme unfolded on July 30, 2023, when a person using a phone number based in Cancun, Mexico, called the Four Winds Casino Hartford, pretending to be “Charles Martinez,” the tribal chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. The fake chairman was connected to a casino cage manager, where large amounts of cash are secured.
While this conversation was taking place, the cage manager also received text messages from a New Jersey phone number. The texter posed as her boss and claimed an urgent payment needed to be made discreetly within 20 minutes.
The combined efforts of the impersonators convinced the cage manager to leave the casino cage with $700,000 in cash, stuffed into a Michael Kors bag. She then drove to Gary, Indiana, guided by the fake chairman. At a Citgo gas station, the manager handed the cash to two men in a Chrysler Pacifica minivan.
Casino security was alerted to the cash removal by another employee, and tribal police immediately launched an investigation.
The FBI tracked down Gaytan-Garcia by analyzing license plate reader data for Chrysler Pacificas in the area. They discovered the vehicle was registered to Gaytan-Garcia’s wife and linked it to a cross-country trip from Chicago to California in September 2023. During that trip, Gaytan-Garcia and his wife were stopped for speeding in Colorado, providing further evidence.
Investigators also tied a phone and Gmail account associated with Gaytan-Garcia to the Citgo gas station at the time of the cash hand-off.
In February 2024, agents raided Gaytan-Garcia’s Chicago home with assistance from tribal law enforcement. Inside a safe, they found a brick of $100 bills wrapped in a band stamped “Hartford” with the date of the casino heist.
The real tribal chairperson of the Pokagon Band is Rebecca Richards, not Charles Martinez, as falsely claimed in the scheme.
Authorities also revealed that Gaytan-Garcia is originally from Mexico and has been residing in the United States without legal authorization.
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