A man has been jailed for suspected casino jackpot fraud. The person in question had a friend claim a slot jackpot on his behalf, which is strictly prohibited in the state of Indiana.
The Man Had Another Person Claim the Jackpot on His Behalf
The suspected fraud occurred in 2022 when a player with the initials F.R. is said to have won a $2,500 jackpot from a slot machine. However, the prize was claimed by someone other than the man who won it.
The Indiana Gaming Commission was notified of the suspicious activity in 2022 and launched an investigation into the matter. The commission understood that it had a jackpot switching case on its hands.
Jackpot switching is considered a Level 6 Felony in Indiana. After concluding its investigation, the IGC initiated R.’s arrest.
The 61-year-old was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail.
The Man Owed Child Support
The man told officials that he was unaware that jackpot switching was a crime. While he confirmed that he was the one who spun the reels on the machine at Bally’s Casino in Evansville, the man noted that he was unaware of the legal implications of this action.
According to R. he had his friend claim the winnings on his behalf because his friend had been the one to give him money to play with on the day the jackpot was won. Authorities understood that the two men regularly played together at Bally’s Casino.
However, when asked whether he owed any child support or money to the state, the man admitted that he did owe child support. This prompted suspicions that he may have engaged in the fraud in order to avoid paying child support.
In the meantime, the police also contacted the other man involved in the jackpot switch. The latter admitted that he had been approached by R. and claimed that the 61-year-old had offered to pay him to claim the jackpot on his behalf.
The other man, however, denied being friends with R. and said that he didn’t know him at all.
While people suspect that R. didn’t want to pay child support, a man from Indonesia took things a step further and allegedly sold his infant baby for 15 million rupiah ($955). He then proceeded to use the funds to gamble online, according to reports.
The man was arrested after his wife forced him to report the crime.
