ANDERSON — One of five men suspected in using stolen credit cards and taking more than $60,000 from two Indiana casinos has been arrested for fraud.
Elliot Blunt, 23, of Schaumburg, Ill., is accused of using a credit card belonging to a 75-year-old Rhode Island woman and obtaining a cash advance at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. He reportedly received $4,200 as an advance with a $112.99 fee on April 3, 2014.
The cash advances were obtained by using credit cards belonging to eight people and not belonging to Blunt or his four co-defendants. One alleged victim told The Herald Bulletin that his credit cards had not been stolen and he did not know how his card could have been used by the suspects.
During a lengthy investigation, the Indiana Gaming Commission determined that nine people were associated with, or were present with, those conducting a total of 12 illegal transactions. The transactions totaled more than $48,000 at Hoosier Park in Anderson and more than $16,000 at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville.
The Rhode Island woman filed a dispute with her bank but the card had already been allegedly used again by Blunt for another cash advance totaling $1,052.99 at Indiana Grand. Blunt then made a cash advance on another credit card that wasn’t his or the Rhode Island woman's for the same amount, according to court documents.
Suspects and cardholders from different states
Thieves have used a variety of methods in cash advance fraud schemes.
In 2014, federal agents were investigating a scheme at a New Orleans casino when they found 48 counterfeit credit cards that had been re-encoded with an account number on their magnetic strips that did not match the 16-digit account numbers embossed on the card.
Earlier this year, 12 New York residents were indicted on charges of false cash withdrawals at the Showboat, Tropicana, Caesars, Harrah’s and Bally’s casinos. When allegedly conducting the transactions, they presented their own identification but used fraudulent credit cards, authorities said.
The cards were embossed with their names, but the magnetic strip embedded on the card belonged to a credit card in another’s name.
But the suspects obtained cash because the name embossed on the card matched the legitimate identification provided by the suspects and the credit card numbers on the magnetic strip were valid numbers.
Blunt was arrested at the Madison County Jail on Wednesday evening.
The other men accused in the alleged scheme are Michael J. Johnson, 27, of Glenwood, Ill.; Jude C. Sayles, 26, of Indianapolis; Timothy A. Smith, 26, of Flossmoor, Ill., and Brandon K. Massey, 26, of Calumet City, Ill. Arrest warrants have been issued for each of the men.
Although most of the suspects reside in the Chicago area, the credit cardholders all lived in other states, with three victims from Connecticut, two from Pennsylvania, and one each from Texas and Virginia.
The transactions varied in amount, but some were for cash advances of more than $9,000.
Transactions became suspicious
Jennifer Reske, deputy director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, said the credit card information has to match the ID presented, so the suspects may have obtained stolen cards with their own identification on the cards.
“At casino cages, individuals are asked to present an ID and a photograph is taken,” Reske said. “If an ID doesn’t match the credit card, the transactions wouldn’t occur.”
However, each of the suspects used their own state-issued driver's license with the transactions.
Even though the suspects were able to get past the identification process at the casinos, their behavior triggered the investigation.
“One thing that triggered the suspicion is that they were conducting large credit transactions and then not participating in gambling,” Reske said.
The suspects are said to have worked together in the scheme, according to court documents. Casino surveillance showed the men drove two vehicles. The surveillance was key in assisting the investigation, Reske said.
“The casinos also have extensive surveillance, so we are able to identify when suspects arrive, what cars they were driving, who they were with,” she said.