Joplin man sentenced in $800k casino identity theft scheme
What do you think?
A Joplin man is headed to federal prison for his role in a nationwide casino fraud operation that used stolen identities and fake driver's licenses to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars.
44-year-old Abraham Ruiz, was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors say Ruiz was among five people involved in a scheme that ran from approximately July 2021 through March 2024, targeting a company that provides cash access services to casinos and online sports betting operators.
According to federal court documents, members of the conspiracy obtained customers' personal identifying information and used it to produce counterfeit driver's licenses.
Those fraudulent IDs were then used to withdraw money from the customers' accounts.
The scheme was repeated at casinos across the United States, resulting in more than $800,000 in fraudulent transactions.
