Instead of a comfortable Las Vegas suite, one scammer will quickly be spending a while in a jail cell. Erik Gutierrez Martinez, 24, was accused of a rip-off that netted greater than $1 million from the Circa Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas.
On Monday, he pleaded responsible to at least one rely of theft of greater than $100,000, bringing to a detailed one of many extra fascinating Vegas crime capers in years.
Originally charged with two felonies, Martinez reached a plea take care of prosecutors. He now faces wherever from one to 10 years in jail.
Details On The Scams
Martinez’s plot was found when police started investigating in June. Officers responded to a name from Circa and have been knowledgeable that “an unknown person” had spoken by cellphone with an worker within the on line casino cage and claimed to be the proprietor of the lodge, Derek Stevens.
The individual on the cellphone requested for six-figures in money as an emergency fee to the fireplace division for “safety devices.”
The ruse not solely labored, it labored a number of occasions! A supervisor would go on handy ship a complete of $1.2 million in funds of $314,000, $350,000, $500,000, and three smaller deposits to places throughout Sin City. Police stated the girl believed she was certainly talking with the lodge proprietor, having texted her supervisor in addition to assembly together with his lawyer.
Police tracked the automobile used within the theft, which belonged to Martinez’s aunt. Cops ultimately searched the house, discovering fairly a bundle of money. Some of these bucks included Circa-branded forex straps, police reported.
Officers then arrested Martinez at his gymnasium on June 18. Almost $850,000 was recovered, however $314,000 stays unaccounted for.
“Although I love a good PR story, this isn’t one of them,” Circa CEO Derek Stevens stated on the time.
Other Casino Theft Details Emerge
Beyond the Circa thefts, Martinez is believed to be accountable for comparable theft makes an attempt on the Eureka Casino in Mesquite and the Golden Nugget in Laughlin as nicely. As a part of the plea deal, nonetheless, he solely accepted guilt for the Circa case.
In March, a Eureka cage supervisor took $250,000 to a Las Vegas gas station to pay for what she believed was owed for hand sanitizer, in accordance with Channel 8 News Now. Via cellphone, Martinez requested the worker to deposit $15,000 in a Bitcoin kiosk and later instructed her to move to a gasoline station to ship the remaining money.
Police say that Martinez was set to obtain the money, however after receiving a warning name from the on line casino, the worker returned to the property with the cash. According to courtroom paperwork, a fellow on line casino worker informed her that her duties didn’t contain “handling payments from vendors or suppliers,” serving to her keep away from a expensive mistake.
