Wynn Las Vegas Industry

Wynn Las Vegas Agrees to $130M Forfeiture Over Illegal Transfers

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 20 September 2024

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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Earlier this month, a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California announced that Wynn Las Vegas has agreed to forfeit $130 million in a historic settlement over illegal money transfers. The popular gambling establishment admitted to the wrongdoings and cut a deal to avoid criminal prosecution.

U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath: “Casinos, like all businesses, will be held to account when they allow customers to evade U.S. laws for the sake of profit.”

The news comes just days after the Borgata in Atlantic City was exposed for underpaying $1.1 million in online gambling taxes, and Bet365 was fined $33,000 for taking wagers after outcomes were known. But what exactly did Wynn Las Vegas do? Read our full article for more details on what we found in our investigation into the issue.

Allegations Against Wynn Las Vegas

The main allegation brought by the prosecution was that Wynn Las Vegas used unregistered money-transmitting businesses to bypass financial laws. The illegal activities began no later than July 2024. They were primarily related to foreign gamblers who were unable or not allowed to enter the country and play in person at the casino.

Essentially, third-party agents transferred the gamblers’ funds through different companies, bank accounts, and the like. The end goal was that the money reaches a Wynn Las Vegas bank account in the Southern District of Columbia. The prosecution revealed that funds were also facilitated through the so-called “Human Head” or “Human Hat” scheme.

As per details published on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s official website, in this scheme, one person gambles by proxy for another who is unwilling or unable to carry out financial transactions or gamble under their own identity.  What happens is that the “Human Head” is controlled by the unidentified gambler and acts according to their directions.

In other instances, Wynn Las Vegas used another scheme known as “qian chen” or “Flying Money” to transfer funds to and from China. The investigation was carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Las Vegas Financial Crimes Task Force.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Carl F. Brooker IV. As part of the investigation, 15 other defendants previously admitted to crimes like unlicensed money transmitting and money laundering. The criminal penalties associated with these crimes are more than $7.5 million.

What’s Next for Wynn Las Vegas?

Following Wynn Las Vegas’s admission to the wrongdoings and the $130 million forfeiture, the establishment and the entire brand will have a lot of work to do to clean up their act and reputation. As of writing this article, the casino has not released an official statement.

It remains to be seen if the brand has learned from its mistakes and will make sure to uphold the U.S. gambling industry’s high safety and security standards and the financial and otherwise laws in the country. We’ll keep you posted in case of any future updates on the case.