{"id":169971,"date":"2021-04-08T09:09:26","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T16:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=169971"},"modified":"2021-04-08T10:19:53","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T17:19:53","slug":"fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/","title":{"rendered":"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam, Pleads Guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Michigan man<\/a> who donned prosthetic \u201cold man\u201d facemasks while bilking casino customers out of more than $125,000 has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud in a federal court in Detroit.<\/p>\n

\"John
John Colletti is captured withdrawing money while wearing prosthetics by security cameras in casino cash kiosks. (Image: U.S. District Court for The Eastern District Of Michigan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John Christopher Colletti, 56, wore a variety of latex and silicone masks while withdrawing gamblers\u2019 money from kiosks at casinos in Michigan<\/a> and Kansas between April 26, 2019, and March 12, 2020.<\/p>\n

According to prosecutors, Colletti used personal information bought from hackers online including names, driver\u2019s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security Numbers. He used this to access accounts belonging to VIP Preferred program customers at the kiosks.<\/p>\n

VIP Preferred is an e-wallet for cashless wagering owned by fintech giant Global Payments. It also allows a customer to withdraw their funds in cash at the Global Payments kiosks.<\/p>\n

Master of Disguise <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Colletti first appeared on law enforcement\u2019s radar in 2019, when the MGM Grand in Detroit reported that ten of its customers had been victims of identity theft in April and May of that year alone.<\/p>\n

\n

Studying security footage, investigators identified a suspect who was making the withdrawals at casinos around Detroit. He appeared to be wearing the prosthetic mask of an elderly man, with a variety of hats, glasses, or surgical masks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On May 23, 2019, after withdrawing $30,000 from the MGM Grand, Colletti hailed a cab to Greektown, where he turned up on the security cameras outside the Pegasus Taverna Restaurant on Monroe Street.<\/p>\n

There, he headed to the restroom, where he ditched the disguise. When he reappeared, investigators saw the suspect’s real face for the first time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Suspicious Bulge\u2019 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Next, Colletti turned up at the Prairie Band Casino in the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Reservation in Kansas. After withdrawing $20,000, he was told to go to the cage to give his social security number for reporting purposes, since it was a large transaction.<\/p>\n

\n

Instead, Colletti went to the restroom to remove his disguise. He emerged shortly afterward and headed to the exit with a noticeable bulge — his mask — in the front of his pants. Security found clothes, a walker, $11,000 in cash, and two fake driver’s licenses in restroom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Colletti was arrested shortly afterward.<\/p>\n

Global Payments assumed the loss on behalf of Colletti\u2019s victims. As part of his plea deal, he has agreed to repay the full $125,740 to the company.<\/p>\n

He will be sentenced on July 7 and faces up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n

“John Colletti stole the identities of dozens of innocent people, dragging them all into his criminal scheme,” said Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI\u2019s Detroit Field Office. \u201cThe impacts of identity theft are serious and far-reaching for victims, and the FBI will work hard to ensure anyone who engages in this type of conduct is held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Michigan man who donned prosthetic \u201cold man\u201d facemasks while bilking casino customers out of more than $125,000 has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud in a federal court in Detroit. John Christopher Colletti, 56, wore a variety of latex and silicone masks while withdrawing gamblers\u2019 money from kiosks at casinos in Michigan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":169972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michigan old-man-mask fraudster pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after bilking customers of VIP Preferred gaming e-wallet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michigan old-man-mask fraudster pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after bilking customers of VIP Preferred gaming e-wallet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-08T16:09:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-08T17:19:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"505\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/\",\"name\":\"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-08T16:09:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-08T17:19:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Michigan old-man-mask fraudster pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after bilking customers of VIP Preferred gaming e-wallet.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":505,\"caption\":\"John Colletti is captured withdrawing money while wearing prosthetics by security cameras in casino cash kiosks. (Image: U.S. District Court For The Eastern District Of Michigan)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam, Pleads Guilty\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam","description":"Michigan old-man-mask fraudster pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after bilking customers of VIP Preferred gaming e-wallet.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam","og_description":"Michigan old-man-mask fraudster pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after bilking customers of VIP Preferred gaming e-wallet.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2021-04-08T16:09:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-08T17:19:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":505,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/","name":"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-08T16:09:26+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-08T17:19:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Michigan old-man-mask fraudster pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after bilking customers of VIP Preferred gaming e-wallet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/john-colletti-wearing-elderly-prosthetics-e1617897932351.jpg","width":900,"height":505,"caption":"John Colletti is captured withdrawing money while wearing prosthetics by security cameras in casino cash kiosks. (Image: U.S. District Court For The Eastern District Of Michigan)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fraudster-in-old-man-disguise-stole-125000-in-casino-scam-pleads-guilty\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fraudster in Old Man Disguise Stole $125,000 in Casino Scam, Pleads Guilty"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}