The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) has fined a California casino over alleged willful violations of anti-money-laundering regulations, its first enforcement action against a casino in six years. Lake Elsinore Hotel and Casino has agreed to pay about $900,000 to settle allegations that it failed to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act for more than 4½ years, FinCEN said Wednesday. These violations included failure to implement and maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program and failure to file currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports. The gaming revenue from traditional casinos reached a total of $33.19 billion by August this year, 0.5% higher than the same period a year before, according to data from the American Gaming Association. FinCEN said the casino’s failure stemmed from the card club management’s decisions, such as failure to assign anyone the responsibility for assuring day-to-day compliance and a lack of adequate procedures to detect suspicious transactions.
Jeff Newman JD MBA, represents whistleblowers nationwide relating to Medicare and Medicaid fraud, under the state and federal False Claims Act (Qui Tam) and corporate whistleblowers in major claims under the SEC, CFTC and FINCEN whistleblower programs. He can be reached at Jeff@JeffNewmanLaw.com or at 866-783-1079
