SAN DIEGO -- A total of 14 suspects have been indicted on accusations they stole about a million dollars from casinos in California and Nevada.
The suspects were allegedly able to confuse the banking system, according to officials. Investigators said the suspects took advantage of a loophole in the Citibank system.
Officials said the suspects would open accounts at various Citibanks in Southern California, including San Diego. They would then go to a casino cash advance kiosk and withdraw money.
Because of that loophole, a suspect could make multiple withdrawals for the same amount of money, as long as it happened within 60 seconds and all those withdrawals would count as duplicate transactions.
Cash used to gamble
The suspect could then overdraw the account by tens of thousands of dollars.
The suspect would then take the cash receipts to a cashier and collect all the money.
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"Some of that cash appears to have been used to gamble at casinos where the fraud was conducted or nearby casinos, such was the volume of the gambling that they were comped free rooms at the casinos,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Coyle said.
Prosecutors said the suspects allegedly withdrew about $1 million during an eight-month period.
Authorities are still looking to arrest one person, the other 13 have already been apprehended.
FBI agents said the loophole in the Citibank system has now been closed.
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