Say Workers Played With House $
Two employees at the Resorts World New York casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park were arraigned last Tuesday, Feb. 21, on charges that they let gamblers play with house money by distributing scores of fraudulent casino player cards containing hundreds of dollars in cash, it was reported.
Law enforcement sources said Rolanda Roberts, 33, of Greene Avenue in Bushwick and Moises Jones, 29, of Broadway in the Bronx allegedly helped generate and distribute as many as 200 Resorts World cards-each of which had a balance of $100-over a seven-week period.
According to the charges, Jones allegedly created the new accounts and applied credits to the cards, which were then allegedly distributed by Roberts to a group of individuals for compensation.
“Employee theft is a major concern for the gaming industry and my office,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown in a statement. “In this case, the defendants took a gamble and lost big time. They now face having felony criminal records and the real possibility of incarceration.”
Two Brooklyn men-Sonny Vlado, 40, of Avenue S and Richard Ulado, 45, of Flatlands Avenue- were also arraigned last week on charges that they received and used some of the fraudulent cards.
Reportedly, Jones used his employee access code to create at least 71 phony accounts and casino cards, each of which bore a fake name and $100 in credit. In statements made to investigators, law enforcement sources said, the suspect allegedly admitted to making $2,000 in profit from the scheme.
Player cards are issued to gammunity blers for free by Resorts World for use at the casino’s slot machines and electronic table games.
It is alleged that Roberts received the fraudulent cards from Jones and then gave them to a select group of people, “for which she would receive something at the end of the night,” Brown stated.
Prosecutors said that Vlado and Ulado allegedly used seven of the phony player cards at Resorts World during a visit to the casino between 11 p.m. Saturday night, Feb. 18, and 4:30 a.m. the following morning.
Jones and Roberts were each booked on one count of fourth-degree grand larceny, 24 counts of seconddegree forgery, 24 counts of seconddegree criminal possession o fa forged instrument, 24 counts of firstdegree falsifying business records and 24 counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Each suspect faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Both suspects were arraigned last Tuesday in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Lenora Gerald, who ordered Jones held on $5,000 bail; Roberts was released on her own recognizance.
They are scheduled to return to court on Mar. 9.
Vlado and Ulado, meanwhile, were booked last Monday on charges of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, petit larceny and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Queens Criminal Court Judge Barry Kron, who presided over their arraignment hearing, released both men on their own recognizance and ordered them to return to court on Mar. 12.
The suspects face up to seven years behind bars if convicted.
Members of the 106th Precinct Detective Squad and Tim Pearson, security director for Resorts World New York, conducted the investigation.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Maloney of the D.A.’s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, bureau chief, and Mark Katz, deputy bureau chief.
