(Photo: Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current)
The federal prosecutor who brought money laundering cases against MGM Grand, its former president Scott Sibella, and several illegal bookmakers, is sharing the details Wednesday afternoon with law enforcement officials at an anti-money laundering (AML) conference at Caesars Palace.
Jeff Mitchell, the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, “will deliver an insightful presentation on the prosecutions of several southern California illegal bookmakers, the MGM Grand Casino and it former President Scott Sibella, the Cosmopolitan Casino, and a Money Service Business,” says the website for the BSA-AML Compliance Group’s conference. Mitchell is expected to “provide a deep dive into the intricacies of these cases, highlighting the stipulated revisions to MGM’s AML program as part of the settlement agreement with the casino.”
Eddy Wang, Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations, who is based in California and also worked on the Las Vegas cases, is listed as a speaker at the conference, as well.
Nevada Gaming Control Board member Dr. Brittnie Watkins was scheduled to deliver welcoming remarks to the conference attendees.
Mitchell and Wang’s appearances provide a stark contrast to the awkward silence, thus far, of the GCB, which was informed of allegations against MGM and Sibella in 2019 by gambler R.J. Cipriani. It’s unknown whether the hotel or regulators acted at that time.
The GCB filed a complaint against Sibella in May related to the fed’s case against MGM, but has announced no action against the former executive or the casino.
The episode calls into question Nevada’s reputation for fielding the gold standard in gaming regulation.
In the meantime, the California feds have moved on to charge another illegal bookie, Mathew Bowyer, who entered guilty pleas last week for illegal gambling, laundering money, and filing a false tax return.
Bowyer was the bookie for Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter who stole $16 million from baseball star Shohei Ohtani. Some of Mizuhara’s losses were wired to gambling accounts at Resorts World Las Vegas.
“Defendant would bring agents, bettors, and associates of the Bowyer Gambling Business to Casino A with him to gamble as a group, some of which were referred to by Casino A employees as the ‘Bowyer Group’” the government’s plea agreement with Bowyer says. “In addition, Casino A’s sports book would at times reach out to defendant and invite defendant to make large bets, to offset the sports book’s risk.”
It’s unknown if Casino A is Resorts World, where Bowyer and associates lost just under $24 million over numerous trips spanning several years, as first reported by the Current.
Resorts World has not been charged with any wrongdoing. A spokesperson says the hotel is cooperating with law enforcement.
The Current was first to report last year that federal agents out of California were investigating MGM Grand, Resorts World, and Sibella, who served as president at both resorts. Sibella was fired by Resorts World a month after the story broke and the hotel received a related subpoena from the feds. He was fined and sentenced to probation in May.
In January, MGM and the Cosmopolitan finalized a non-prosecution agreement with the feds and paid a $7.45 million fine for allowing illegal bookmaker Wayne Nix to pay $120,000 cash toward a gambling debt at the MGM Grand without filing a federally-required cash transaction report.
Casinos are required by federal law to know the source of gamblers’ funds and report suspicious transactions. Know Your Customer (KYC) standards are designed to protect financial institutions, including casinos, against corruption, fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing.
Media are not permitted to attend the conference and Mitchell did not respond to requests for an interview.
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