Gary, IN – In an audacious act of deception, a man from Mexico, Jesus Gaytan-Garcia, 43, orchestrated a plot that led to a staggering $700,000 being siphoned off from the Four Winds Casino in Hartford, Michigan.
Allegedly posing as a Native American tribal chairperson at the time, the impersonator convinced a casino employee through a series of calculated phone calls and text messages, to deliver the hefty sum to a predetermined location—a gas station in Gary, Indiana.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the elaborate scam unfolded in July of the previous year when the casino employee was misled by simultaneous communication from the supposed tribal chairperson and another individual claiming to be the casino cage director, who was conveniently “out of town.” The employee was instructed to expedite the cash transfer within 20 minutes, leading to the handover of the cash to Gaytan-Garcia at an unidentified gas station.
This brazen theft was uncovered following a detailed month-long investigation by the Pokagon Tribal Police and the FBI. It was also revealed that Gaytan-Garcia is currently in the United States without legal authorization, adding another layer to the already complex case.
