3040 stories by Philip Conneller
L.A. Businessman Who Planned Belize Casino Gets 40 Years for $1B Tax Fraud
A California businessman -- who conspired with a Mormon fundamentalist sect to fund the construction of a casino resort in Belize with the proceeds of a breathtaking biofuel tax fraud -- has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. American-Armenian businessman Lev...
Jamul Casino Cemetery ‘Destruction’ Linked to Catholic Church Fraud, Sex-Abuse Claims
Concerns that the expansion of the Jamul Casino near San Diego, Calif. could be disturbing a nearby historic cemetery have taken a fresh twist. A lawsuit accuses the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego of fraud. It also claims the diocese transferred...
Washington State Woman with TB Faces Jail After Casino Visit
An unnamed Tacoma, Wash. woman who refuses to isolate with tuberculosis (TB) has visited an area casino at least once, according to court documents seen by The Tacoma News Tribune. The woman, identified in filings only as “V.N.,” has been ordered by...
Sault Chippewa Settle for $25M Over Thwarted Casino Projects
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has agreed to pay at least $25 million to two investment companies to settle years of tangled litigation over a pair of derailed Michigan casino projects. The tribe had been on the hook for...
Crypto Exchange Beaxy Founder Charged with Gambling Investor Funds
Crypto exchange Beaxy suspended its operations Wednesday, citing “an uncertain regulatory environment.” That’s after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil charges against founder Artak Hamazaspyan for securities fraud. He allegedly raised $8 million in an unregistered offering of the...
Las Vegas Shooter Was ‘Stressed and Upset’ at Treatment by Casinos: FBI
Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock developed a grudge against casinos and lost “thousands” in the leadup to the 2017 massacre that killed 60 and injured hundreds more. That’s according to newly released FBI documents, at times heavily redacted, that detail a yearlong...
‘Slots Whisperer’ Sara King Blames Royal Husband for $10M Scam
Sara King, the LA lawyer accused of living large in Las Vegas with $10 million of her clients’ cash, now claims she was put up to it by her soon-to-be ex-husband, a great-nephew of the last Shah of Iran. Meanwhile, her husband,...
Online Lottery Player Sweats Court Ruling on ‘£10 or £1M’ Jackpot Claim
A British woman is anxiously awaiting a judge’s decision on whether she won £10 (US$12.30) or £1 million (US$1.2 million) on an online lottery scratch-off game. Joan Parker-Grennan, from Boston, Lincolnshire, sued UK National Lottery provider Camelot in London’s High Court in...
Wirecard Fugitive Jan Marsalek’s Grandad was ‘Russian Agent,’ Document Claims
Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek’s grandfather was a suspected Russian spy, The Financial Times has learned. The revelation could shed light on the executive’s behavior in the lead-up to the fintech giant’s spectacular collapse, and his subsequent flight to Moscow. Former Wirecard COO...
Abilify and Problem Gambling: Doctors, Patients ‘Unaware of Danger’
The UK’s National Problem Gambling Clinic (NPGC) says there needs to be stronger messaging around the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole and the risks of users developing a gambling addiction. Better known by its brand name, Abilify, the drug is used to treat schizophrenia,...
