Four Winds Casino, owned and operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, has recently lost $700,000 after an employee of its cash cage left the premises with the money. The employee, Danika Young, has been officially charged with embezzlement of over $100,000 or more.
Young was arrested in Gary, Indiana before being extradited back to Michigan and booked into Van Buren County Jail. She was an employee of Four Winds Hartford, located in Michigan, for 16 years prior to the incident.
The money has yet to be located. Young told investigators that before leaving the casino with the cash she had gotten a phone call from a number she didn’t recognize, where the caller asked her to take the cash to Gary.
According to local police, Young then met someone in Gary and gave them the money, though it has not been reported who this person is, or whether police have any leads.
An officer testified at a probable cause hearing, “She’s the supervisor of the cash cage … so she has millions of dollars she is responsible for. She counted out $700,000 and put it in a bag and walked out of the casino.”
If convicted after her next hearings, scheduled August 9th and 16th, Young could spend up to 20 years in prison for this offense. Young and her public defender sought a personal recognizance bond as part of her arraignment, due to both her length of service at the casino and the fact that she is a mother with a child.
Judge Arthur Clarke set her bond at $1m. He said, “My concern is a very simple concern. That $700,000 has not been located… if I release you and $700,000 would show up and you would be off to wherever and I would not see you again.”
Young, who has no criminal record, said to the Judge, “I’m very sorry for what happened. This is my first charge, sir.”
Four Winds Casino opened its fourth location in South Bend, Indiana in March this year.
