Five New Yorkers charged with stealing $1.1m from Atlantic City casinos using false checks

Caesars, Borgata, Ocean, Hard Rock and Golden Nugget all lost six figures in gaming chips.

New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced that five people have been indicted for allegedly attempting to steal more than $1.1m in gaming chips from five Atlantic City casinos by presenting fraudulent bank checks.

The Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau obtained an Atlantic County grand jury indictment on Oct. 13, charging each individual with second-degree conspiracy and various counts of second-degree theft by deception and attempted theft by deception. The individuals charged are: Xiuhuan Zhang, 65, of Flushing, N.Y. Qingtao Zhang, 53, of Flushing, N.Y. Shuai Liu, 30, of College Point, N.Y. Peng Cai, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Sen Ge, 29, of Flushing, N.Y.

“From Aug. 26 to Aug. 28, 2021, the two women—Xiuhuan Zhang and Qingtao Zhang—allegedly presented the false checks at the five casinos, and the three men—Liu, Cai, and Ge—allegedly assisted them at various times, along with other individuals who remain under investigation,” the attorney general’s office said.

“At each of the five casinos—Caesars, Borgata, Ocean, Hard Rock, and Golden Nugget—Xiuhuan Zhang allegedly presented a fraudulent TD Bank Official Check for $150,000 to obtain gaming chips, and Qingtao Zhang allegedly presented a fraudulent Bank of America Cashier’s Check for $134,000 to obtain gaming chips. The two checks presented at each casino were identical to the checks presented at the other casinos. In two instances, Xiuhuan Zhang did not obtain chips, because Hard Rock denied the $150,000 check, and Golden Nugget said she could only receive incremental amounts from the check.”

Caesars, Hard Rock and Borgata all lost $284,000, while Golden Nugget and Ocean lost $134,000.

Acting Attorney Bruck said, “This case is just one example of the excellent work—in this instance across international borders—performed by the members of the New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice who are assigned to investigate and prosecute crimes in the casinos.”

Ezra Amacher

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