Scammer Posed as Light & Wonder to Steal $270K From Prairie Wind Casino

• Federal indictment alleges casino email account secretly monitored for months
• Fraudsters impersonated Light & Wonder to redirect nearly $270,000 in payments
• FBI says international cyber fraud suspects will be pursued worldwide

A federal court in South Dakota has indicted a Nigerian man for allegedly orchestrating a sophisticated cyber fraud scheme that bilked the Prairie Wind Casino & Hotel out of more than $270,000.

The casino, operated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is based on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the state’s southwestern corner, close to the border with Nebraska.

According to a redacted federal indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in South Dakota, prosecutors allege Kenneth Godwin and unnamed co-conspirators carried out a months-long “business email compromise scheme” targeting the tribal casino between May and September 2023.

This involved impersonating gaming tech giant Light & Wonder and other vendors to exploit existing commercial relationships between the companies.

Compromised Inbox

The scheme began when the conspirators gained unauthorized access to the casino general manager’s email account in June 2023, according to the indictment. Then they were able to configure the account to secretly redirect and conceal emails, allowing them to monitor internal communications undetected.

Prosecutors say the conspirators used the compromised account to send fraudulent payment instructions to casino staff, authorizing wire transfers that appeared legitimate.

By monitoring legitimate email exchanges between the casino and Light & Wonder, the conspirators were able to impersonate Light & Wonder employees using altered or redirected email domains.

Believing the requests were legitimate, casino officials wired three payments totaling nearly $199,000 between July and September 2023.

The fraud was discovered on Sept. 6, 2023, when a legitimate Light & Wonder account manager contacted the casino regarding unpaid balances. At that point, the casino realized the earlier wire transfers had been directed to fraudulent accounts controlled by the conspirators, according to prosecutors.

Authorities allege the stolen money was moved through multiple accounts using an OFX international transfer account before being transferred to banks in Canada. In total, the scheme fraudulently obtained approximately $270,880 from the casino.

Arrest Status Unclear

Federal authorities charged Godwin with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of wire fraud, and unauthorized access to a protected computer. The suspect is believed to be residing in Nigeria, and it’s unclear whether he has been arrested or extradited to the United States.

FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson vowed the FBI will “track down those who steal from and commit fraud against the people of the United States wherever those offenders may be.”