Wynn Resorts Ltd. has agreed to forfeit a staggering $130.1 million in the largest settlement ever issued to a casino. The agreement was made with federal authorities in order to avoid prosecution for the Las Vegas casino-resort using unlicensed money transmitting businesses to attract high-rollers.
Federal authorities revealed that Wynn Las Vegas admitted to illegally utilizing unregistered money transmitting businesses in order to bypass the traditional financial system. The Justice Department disclosed that Wynn regularly engaged third-party independent agents as unlicensed money transmitting businesses to bring in foreign gamblers to the resort. These agents facilitated the transfer of funds from the gamblers through various companies, bank accounts, and third parties in Latin America and beyond, ultimately depositing the money into a Wynn-controlled bank account in Southern District of California.
The funds that were deposited into the Wynn-controlled account were then transferred into the Wynn cage account. Employees, in collusion with independent agents, credited the Wynn account of each individual patron, enabling foreign gamblers at Wynn to evade both foreign and U.S. laws concerning monetary transfer and reporting.
Juan Carlos Palermo was cited as an example by prosecutors, indicating that while acting as an independent agent for Wynn, he operated multiple unlicensed money transmitting businesses in the U.S. and abroad. These businesses conducted over 200 transfers with bank accounts controlled by Wynn or its affiliates on behalf of more than 50 foreign casino patrons, exceeding $17.7 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice have chosen not to disclose the names of the unregistered individuals and companies involved in forwarding payments to Wynn. Wynn Las Vegas, a subsidiary of Wynn Resorts, signed a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the Department of Justice as part of the settlement, agreeing to forfeit $130.1 million in exchange for no prosecution.
“This settlement sets a precedent as the largest forfeiture by a casino admitting to criminal misconduct,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath.
Additionally, Wynn Resorts announced the settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving hundreds of shareholders from 2018 regarding allegations against former Wynn Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn, who resigned amidst sexual harassment accusations. The company has since restructured its board of directors and implemented new policies to prevent such incidents from occurring again.
Both legal matters involving Wynn Resorts are tied to events that transpired over six years ago and involve individuals who are no longer associated with the company. Steve Wynn has consistently denied any allegations of harassment.