Five New Yorkers allegedly attempted to swindle five Atlantic City casinos out of more than $1.1 million via fraudulent checks.
Xiuhuan Zhang, Quingtato Zhang, Shuai Liu, Peng Cai, and Sen Ge were indicted and charged with second-degree conspiracy and various counts of second-degree theft by deception and attempted theft by deception, according to New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck.
The alleged amounts from each casino total $1,120,000.
- Borgata: $284,000
- Caesars: $284,000
- Hard Rock: $284,000
- Golden Nugget: $134,000
- Ocean: $134,000
Details of alleged AC casino ploy
The alleged crimes took place across three days in late August, with the two women, Xiuhuan Zhang and Qingtao Zhang, presenting false checks. The three men–Lui, Cai and Ge–allegedly assisted them.
At all five casinos, Xiuhuan Zhang allegedly presented a fraudulent TD Bank check for $150,000 to obtain gaming chips. Quingtao Zhang allegedly presented a fraudulent Bank of America check for $134,000 each time.
Hard Rock denied Xiuhuan Zhang’s $150,000 check, while Golden Nugget said she could only receive incremental amounts from the account.
Chasing down the suspects
Authorities detained Qingtao Zhang in Amsterdam via warrant on Sept. 7, 2021. There are active arrest warrants out for the other perpetrators at the time of writing.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of 5-10 years in state prison, and a criminal fine of up to $150,000.
Lead photo: Juan Camilo Bernal | Dreamstime
