SEATTLE — A former supervisor at the Tulalip Resort and Casino was sentenced Friday to three months in federal prison and three years of probation for stealing nearly $20,000 from customers’ rewards accounts.
Tribal member Walter Anthony Moses, 28, pleaded guilty to theft in September. He was ordered to pay back $19,994 as part of his sentence.
Authorities began investigating Moses in May 2008 after a casino patron complained that $500 was missing from her Rewards Club points accounts, according to court records.
Customers earn points based on the amount of gambling they do. The points can be redeemed for merchandise, food or cash.
Investigators determined that Moses was debiting points from a number of customers. Surveillance video showed Moses distributing points vouchers to one relative, who cashed it in.
He withdrew $19,994 from the accounts of top customers in the name of relatives whom he used as accomplices. The relatives received vouchers, kept some of the money and gave the rest to Moses. He would then erase the withdrawals from account records, court papers said.
Moses was fired on May 22, 2008, from his job as a Rewards Club supervisor.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tate London asked that Moses serve a prison sentence. “The money lost to the Tulalip Tribes would have been used for important tribal purposes,” London said.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Tulalip Tribal Police Department.
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