Man Managed To Pull Off $100,000 Casino Heist By Wearing Old Man Face Prosthetics
A robber that was wearing an old man’s mask and used counterfeit driver’s licenses to steal over $100,000 from casino patrons in Kansas and Michigan, USA.
John Colletti, the man, is said to have illegally obtained information about his victims, before using counterfeit driver’s licenses.
He used that to take money out of their personal bank accounts using the self-service kiosks at casinos.
The kiosks are used within the casinos for processing jackpots, bill breaking, cash withdrawal, ticket exchanges, and cash advances.
Users are requested to place their driver’s license, the last 4 digits of their social security number, and their phone number into the kiosks before they could withdraw money.
It is said that the victims that Colletti targeted have their bank accounts linked to their profile in the VIP Preferred Programme of Global Payments Game Services.
Emily Edmonds, a Global Payments Game Services spokeswoman, said:
We initially identified this fraudulent activity and immediately alerted our customer and law enforcement. Throughout the investigation, we provided support and cooperation that ultimately led to the apprehension of this suspect.
An investigation into the case was launched after security personnel at the MGM Grand Casino identified 10 victims who had lost a combined sum of approximately $98,840 between April 26 and May 27, 2019.
The staff then reported the incident to the Michigan State Police.
An investigation found that their suspect by looking at surveillance videos, however, in each case they would see a person wearing a full prosthetic mask.
The mask resembled an older white man.
On March 12, 2020, almost 1 year later, the police arrested Colleti for identify theft at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Casino in Kansas.
It is reported that he was disguised as an elderly man at the casino as he tried to get $20,000 from kiosks.
When the security approached the man and asked him for his social security number, he went to the bathroom.
The police said he removed his disguise during the trip to the restroom.
The complaint then said that Colletti exited the casino with a noticeable bulge down the front of his pants.
Authorities believe that the bulge was the prosthetic face mask that he used.
John Colletti, who is 55-year-old, is currently facing charges of:
- Wire fraud
- Aggravated identity theft
- Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices
He will appear for a detention hearing on July 30, 2020.