Macau’s Court of Final Appeal has upheld a prison sentence for former Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau of 18 years, rejecting his appeal to shorten the term. This comes at the end of a closely watched case that has had major implications for Macau’s casino industry.

Macau Court Denies Appeals by Chau and Eight Other Defendants

The court confirmed on July 3 in an in-camera hearing the initial ruling handed down in January last year, which found Chau guilty of criminal association, illegal gambling, and money laundering, reported the Macau Daily Times. Eight other defendants connected to the same case also had their appeals denied, keeping their sentences between nine and 12-and-a-half years.

Chau was convicted of making illegal gains through money laundering and illegal gambling activities. The court found that he and his associates brought in HKD24.87 billion ($3.18 billion) from these activities, which must be returned to the Macau government as ill-gotten gains.

His legal saga began when he was arrested by Macau authorities in November 2021 on charges including leading a criminal syndicate and being involved in illicit gambling operations. After several months of trial at the Court of First Instance, Chau was found guilty on 103 out of 229 charges related to gambling. Some were dropped because they exceeded the statute of limitations while another 59 were added on top of them. Chau was acquitted on charges linked to money laundering.

Court Decision Reinforces Government’s Commitment to Crackdown on Junket Industry

The final sentence remained unchanged despite multiple appeals, including one for clemency addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping where he portrayed himself as a pivotal figure who transformed Macau into a global tourism hub. The Court of Second Instance scrapped his fraud conviction but jacked up the amount that should be paid back by Chau.

Attempts by the prosecution to reinstate fraud charges against him and seek tougher penalties failed too. 

However, this decision cements the hard Macau government stance taken towards Chau and others involved. It further underscores the clampdown against the junket industry and the crackdown on illegal gambling operations being carried out within Macao SAR borders.

Chau’s fall from grace reflects wider crackdowns on capital flight facilitated via junket operators as well as money laundering by Mainland Chinese authorities. Following his detention, Suncity Group – formerly Asia’s largest junket operator – was exposed to significant risks arising out of these activities leading to its shutdown.The case has also triggered sweeping changes across Macau’s casino sector with stricter regulations being put in place coupled with increased oversight mechanisms.

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Roberto Orellana, a man who allegedly scammed a casino worker out of $350,000, has pleaded not guilty in court. If convicted, the man faces up to 15 years in prison.

The 44-year-old was accused of scamming a cashier at Grand River Casino, a tribal gambling property in Mobridge, South Dakota. According to the allegations, the employee received scam texts on their phone from who appeared to be their boss.

The texts claimed that a firm was conducting an audit of Grand River Casino. According to the scam text, an alleged lawyer needed the money to help the casino avoid additional fines. The text told the employee to transfer the cash into Bitcoin at a machine in Aberdeen. A second text included detailed instructions, telling them to bring the money to the Dakota Sunset gas station in Mitchell.

Once there, the employee handed the money to two men who were waiting for them in the gas station’s parking lot.

The Man Pleaded Not Guilty to the Allegations

While authorities didn’t confirm how the casino realized the scam, the authorities were eventually contacted, prompting an investigation into the matter. After an expert from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the matter, the department was able to access the gas station surveillance and identify the credit card used by one of the two suspects.

The man who owned the credit card was Orellana from Omaha, Nebraska, the police understood. They also learned that he was the owner of the car that the two suspects used.

According to a report from the Mitchell Daily Republic, Orellana pleaded not guilty to the allegations on Tuesday. The case will likely progress into a trial as the man faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000.

Federal authorities had requested a bond hold on Orellana but Judge Chris Giles denied changing the conditions.

The report didn’t mention anything about the man who was with Orellana when the casino employee brought the money. Authorities are yet to say what has happened to the money.

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Morm Rithy, who is one of the leaders in Cambodia’s labor movement, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a Facebook post he used to criticize the treatment of a casino worker.  

Union Leader Rithy Faces Legal Battle Over Facebook Critique

Rithy who is also the president of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers’ Federation (CTSWF) and the vice president of the Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC) was charged with incitement and discrediting judicial decisions, reported The Camboja News. 

The reason behind the charges is a Facebook post from February 24, 2022, with which Rithy expressed concerns about the arrest of Morm Sreyleak, a female employee at the Jin Bei 2 casino, and questioned the legitimacy of her being detained. He also called for more transparency in the judicial proceedings. As a result, the Chinese-owned Jin Bei Group filed a complaint against him.

Following prolonged legal proceedings, Rithy was arrested on May 7 this year outside the offices of CLC in Phnom Penh. Scheduling conflicts prevented Rithy from attending the hearing and the verdict was pronounced in his absence. 

Cambodian Rights Groups Decry Union Leader’s Sentence

Licadho and other human rights groups have spoken against Rithy’s prison sentences. The have labeled the imprisonments an attempt to scare labor unions and thwart their activist operations. 

The incident is part of a wider crackdown on activists and union leaders in Cambodia. A couple of days before Rithy’s arrest Cambodia’s Supreme Court confirmed the verdict of Chhim Sithar who is also a labor unionist and several other individuals who organized a strike at NagaWorld Casino.

Cambodia has faced criticism that such activities undermine its reputation as a democratic state and violate fundamental freedoms. The Cambodian government has stated that it abides by the law, however, it is still the subject of allegations of politically motivated prosecutions and judicial harassment.

Cambodia has a history of authoritarian governance including former Prime Minister Hun Sen. Against this backdrop the country is still struggling to uphold democratic values and protect human rights and the freedom of speech. Despite a change in leadership, observers have yet to witness significant improvements in the country’s human rights landscape.

Following Rithy’s arrest and prison sentence, fellow union leaders and activists have vouched for his release. They see the incident as a threat to the labor movement‘s ability to advocate for workers’ rights.

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Cambodia’s Supreme Court has not shown leniency in the case of a labor union leader who organized one of the longest-running strikes against the country’s biggest casino, with the detainee, Chhim Sithar, alleging that NagaWorld laid off workers illegally and attempted to bust the union’s efforts to fight back.

No Reprieve for Determined Union Labor Leader

The Supreme Court found Sithar, president of the Labor Right Supports Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, to have acted against the law, upholding his two-year prison sentence originally meted out in May 2023. Sithar was brought up on charges of incitement to commit a felony, and the court has now upheld the sentence, meaning that Sithar will have to serve out his sentence.

Sithar was the driving force behind the protests that erupted in December 2021, protesting mass layoffs at the NagaWorld Casino in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh and was finally arrested in January 2022, after refusing to back down and tell union workers to go home. NagaCorp has since recovered, demonstrating strong growth.

NagaWorld fired 373 employees as the casino faced the financial pinch of the pandemic and lack of tourists, which significantly depressed operational results and brought business to a standstill. Despite Sithar’s arrest, though, many of the fired workers continue to rally and protest both her incarceration and sentence, as well as the way NagaWorld and Cambodia’s legal system have treated the case.

Yet, some have opted out of settlements with the company, and some 200 ex-workers have already accepted settlements. Yet, others have not been so lucky. Sithar may have been dubbed a “ringleader” by the court, but she is not alone, as eight of her fellow union workers have also been handed down 18-month prison sentences as well.

Illegal Detention and Human Rights Champion

Sithar though is unlikely to be released earlier. She will end her sentence term later this year. She is also the recipient of the US Department of State Human Rights Defender Award and this distinction comes at a time when the United States has warned that doing business in Cambodia could pose significant risk to investors, alleging that corruption ran deep in the state.

Cambodia has vehemently denied these accusations.  Yet, the fate of Sithar is no way to assuage concerns about underhand practices that favor powerful businesses over citizens. NagaWorld began operations in 1994 and the casino is owned by the powerful Malaysian billionaire Chen Lip Keong and his family.

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In October, Olympian Nam Hyun-hee posed with her future husband Jeon Cheong-jo for a popular magazine in South Korea. The famous Olympian fencer’s fiancé presented himself at the time as an heir to a wealthy family. This public appearance ultimately led to the downfall of Jeon, who not only appeared to be a female rather than a male but it was uncovered that she was involved in a number of scams.

Shortly after, the engagement between Jeon and Nam was broken off. The public appearance raised quite a few eyebrows of Jeon’s victims, whom she allegedly stole millions from. In November, she was arrested amid an investigation into fraud and false representation.

The photo shoot from the magazine also uncovered that Jeon was involved in different criminal activities primarily related to scams even before her romance with Nam. This led to police authorities confirming her criminal background and biological sex, revealing that although she identified as a man, Jeon hasn’t undergone the official procedure required for sex change in South Korea.

Fraudulent Activity Results in Prison Sentence

After the arrest, Jeon was recently sentenced to prison over fraud. Local media outlets confirmed that the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced Jeon to 12 years in prison after she was found guilty of defrauding 27 people out of 3 billion won ($2.2 million).

Presenting herself as the heir of the owners of the Paradise Group, a leading hotel and casino company in South Korea, she misled investors. The prosecution found out that Jeon misled investors by offering lucrative opportunities that are only available to the country’s wealthiest families.

As a result, she defrauded nearly 30 victims out of a staggering 3 billion won. During the investigation, it was uncovered that Jeon presented herself both as a male and female in an effort to pursue her victims.

According to prosecutors, Jeon used the fraudulently obtained funds for a lavish lifestyle. However, she claimed that some of the money was spent on gifts that were given to Nam.

Considering those claims, an investigation into the 42-year-old Olympian fencer is also ongoing. It is yet to be confirmed whether or not Nam was aware of Jeon’s fraudulent activities and if she was involved in any way.

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Joseph Garrison, one of the youths who staged cyber fraud involving DraftKings Sportsbook accounts in 2022, has pleaded guilty, accepting an 18-month prison sentence.

The 19-year-old was involved in a credential surfing attack. Along with other conspirators Garrison exploited system vulnerabilities to steal $600,000 from DraftKings users whose credentials had been stolen in other data breaches.

In total, over 1,600 sports betting accounts were affected. Garrison allegedly bragged to friends about the cyberattack, telling them that “fraud is fun.”

The cyberattack not only hurt many victims but also undermined confidence in DraftKings’ ability to protect its customers. As a result, the young man had to receive a sentence that reflected the caliber of the crime. According to attorney Damian Williams, “The sentencing underscores the urgent need for vigilance and the critical importance of our collective efforts in combating cyber threats and safeguarding digital integrity.”

Garrison Will Spend 3 Years on Supervised Release

As mentioned, Garrison is set to serve 18 months in prison. Following that, he will spend three years on supervised release.

In addition to his time in prison, Garrison will have to pay $1.3 million in restitution and $175,000 in forfeiture.

The DraftKings incident, however, is not the only time Garrison has been involved in legal trouble. The young man currently has a legal matter in Wisconsin where he allegedly used Bitcoin to pay another party that would call in several bomb threats to his school.

Two of Garrison’s Co-Conspirators Were Arraigned

In the meantime, Nathan Austad and Kamerin Stokes, two of Garrison’s alleged conspirators, were just arrested and arraigned. The latter allegedly paid Garrison to gain access to DraftKings Sportsbook accounts and then re-sold them online.

Austad, on the other hand, leveraged artificial intelligence to promote a shop of stolen user accounts. In addition to that, he allegedly managed cryptocurrency wallets that received approximately $465,000 in proceeds from credential-stuffing attacks and the sale of compromised data.

As a result of their alleged participation in the conspiracy, the two youths risk up to 20 years in prison.

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A man for Oklahoma has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a man who jokingly bragged about winning at a local casino. As it turned out, the supposed winner had no money, which infuriating the killer.

Back in October 2020, the killer, Kevin Marvell Jackson, 22, was attending a house party in Muskogee with his girlfriend Natalie McMahon. There, he met with the victim, Bradley Dillon, 19, and another friend named Dakota Berryhill.

At one point, Dillon and Berryhill left the party and went to Creek Nation Casino Muskogee, a local gambling property. While on their way back to the party, the two called their friends and joked about winning $10,000.

The money tempted Jackson and, without taking time to consider whether Dilon and Berryhill had truly won a prize, he prepared to rob them. Jackson quickly grabbed a gun and hid his face with a ski mask. Then, he waited for the two other men to return and ambushed them as they got out of the car.

Jackson then learned that the two men had no money. Angry, he threatened them with a gun, telling them to drive to an ATM and withdraw some. At that point, Berryhill got scared, jumped back into the car and drove away, leaving his Dillon behind. The frustrated killer then took the young man’s life, shooting him five times.

Jackson Will Spend His Life Behind Bars

Dillon was rushed to St. Francis Hospital but was pronounced dead. In the meantime, the police began the search for the killer.

A woman by the name Vicky Garza saw the murder and helped the police identify the killer. Facebook Messenger conversations with McMahon helped the law enforcers incriminate him. However, it wouldn’t be before several weeks that the murderer was finally arrested.

Jackson’s despicable crime has now earned him two life sentences without the right for parole. He was also sentenced to 180 in prison for robbery in an Indian Country and 180 months in prison for using a firearm for a violent crime.

Attorney Christopher Wilson commented on the matter, saying that there is no room in society for people who commit “such callous acts” as Jackson.

In other legal news, two Las Vegas dealers were arrested for allegedly helping two regular baccarat players win big sums.

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In January, the 49-year-old founder and chief executive officer of casino junket Suncity Group Ltd., Alvin Chau, was indicted for fraud, criminal association, money laundering, and illegal gaming. Some 20 other people were indicted for the same crimes. 

While the former CEO was not convicted of money laundering at the Court of First Instance, he was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison in aggregate. He was acquitted of fraud charges along with a few other defendants, thus getting rid of the obligation to pay HKD8.67 billion ($1.08 billion) to the Macau government as well as several casino operators in the city.

Now, according to a ruling from the Court of Second Instance issued at the end of last week, the sentences for nine defendants have been maintained in relation to proxy betting, illicit gambling, under-the-table betting, and criminal association. Mr Chau’s prison sentence has also been confirmed. 

Aggravated Money Laundering Charges

The former Junket King, along with Suncity Group’s head of finance department, Philip Wong Pak Ling, were convicted on charges of aggravated money laundering. The two, together with seven other defendants, were told they would need to pay a compensation of close to HKD25.51 billion ($3.25 billion) to the Macau government for gains drawn from illegal forms of gambling as well as from the profits they generated through money laundering activities.

According to the most recent court ruling, the group ruled by Mr Chau obtained little over HKD17.66 billion ($2.25 billion) in illicit gains from “under the table” betting, and around HKD7.21 billion ($921 million) from proxy betting. Together with Mr Wong and Cheung Ling Ling, the founder of the group allegedly obtained profits of nearly HKD617.0 million ($78 million) and CNY17.0 million (US$2.3 million) in profits using money laundering.

In January, Ms Cheung was acquitted by the lower court. Now, the Court of Second Instance sentenced her to five years in prison for her role of co-conspirator in relation to the said charges of money laundering. Ms Cheung, who was controlling Suncity Group’s assets, had also received a prison sentence in Wenzhou, mainland China, in a process connected to allegations regarding the same group. 

In September 2022, Wenzhou People’s Intermediate Court fined Ms Cheung CNY800,000 ($112,700) and sentenced her to spend seven years in jail for illegal business operations and the “establishing casino” crime. At the time, Ms Cheung accepted the sentence and said she would not ask for an appeal.

Finally, the sentences of four of the defendants were cut from 15 to 12-and-a-half years, according to last week’s ruling. The defendants are still allowed to appeal to Macau’s Court of Final Appeal.

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On July 11, Caesars Palace was subject to a standoff situation caused by 36-year-old Matthew Mannix. Now, the culprit has received his sentence. 

Up to Two Years Prison Sentence and a Casino Ban on The Vegas Strip

Mannix could spend the following two years in prison, according to the sentence between 19 and 48 months that he received for his role in the incident. The arrestee was completely banned from entering any casino on the Vegas Strip. He will also have to pay restitution of around $55,000 for the damage caused to the hotel room where he barricaded himself together with his girlfriend. 

Mannix then proceeded to smash the room’s window and throw out different furniture items. The broken glass pieces, a chair and a desk crashed into the rooftops of the building below and landed on a pool deck, causing the fearful guests to scatter. However, no serious injuries were reported at the time.

According to his attorney, Mannix was hallucinating at the time of the violent incident after having spent the past days consuming drugs. Investigators at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department also reported that both Mannix and the woman looked to be “under the influence of narcotics and experiencing drug-induced paranoia” during the standoff.

Threats of Violence

Police reports revealed that Mannix announced he was ready to physically confront police officers at the scene, threatening to shoot the officers and cut out his girlfriend’s tongue. A report from Las Vegas TV station KVVU spoke about Mannix threatening to be under the possession of “a magazine full of rounds” and that he was planning on pulling the trigger.

Later on, it was found that the suspect did not have a firearm on him. His girlfriend handed over a folding knife to the police after Mannix surrendered after a SWAT team broke into the hotel room.

Mannix was taken into custody and he remained in jail in Las Vegas on a bail set at $750,000. Later on, Mannix also came forward about his long addiction to a series of narcotics a few days later. His attorney, David Roger, listed over 10 illegal drugs and a number of prescription medications that Mannix had claimed to have taken in the past.

Mannix Could Have Faced a More Serious Punishment 

In August, Mannix ended his trial over the spectacular standoff by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor negligence charge and severe property damage. This convinced the prosecution to give up the more severe charges of first-degree kidnapping, coercion with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping against the suspect. 

Accordingly, the culprit was facing a prison sentence of between one and five years in Colorado, his home state. Provided Mannix would not have taken the plea deal, he could have served a life sentence in Nevada.

In our August article that followed the latest developments related to the story, we also mentioned the fact that Mannix could have faced a fine of up to $12,000. His transfer to Colorado was announced on September 28

Expressing Remorse and Rehabilitation 

Mannix expressed remorse and regret for what he had done while expressing his clear intentions to overcome his drug addiction problem.

Clark County District Court Judge Crystal Eller decided to reject prosecutor Max Anderson’s request to send Mannix up to five years in prison, arguing that the 19 months to 48 months sentence would instead allow Mannix to complete a substance abuse recovery program in prison. 

It is uncertain whether Mannix would be serving his sentence in Colorado or Nevada. Attorney David Roger said that he was expecting the authorities in Colorado to take custody of his client and resolve the case against him there.

At the moment, Mannix is undergoing treatment with drugs for bipolar disorders and schizophrenia, according to his attorney. Roger also said that Mannix’s family had already paid the restitution amount owed to Caesars Palace for the property damage.

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In April this year, Sajad Hussain, a 45-year-old resident of Winterbourne Road, Haydon End, Swindon, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud. At the time, police authorities revealed that the man was behind a years-long fraudulent practice that brought him some £200,000 ($251,500). For seven years until 2020, Hussain exploited women, asking them for money which he then used to fuel a gambling addiction.

In 2018, Hussain married, but this didn’t stop him from continuing the shocking scam. Overall, he scammed three victims out of thousands of pounds by using a fake name, background as well as a plethora of different excuses and reasons why he would need money. To meet with his victims, Hussain used different online dating websites such as Badoo and Plenty of Fish.

The scammer was active between 2013 and 2020. During that time, he extorted three different victims and while his name and other background details would vary, it was the same story every time. Initially, Hussain would meet his victims on a date and flirt with them, paying for entertaining activities. Once their relationship matured, Hussain started to ask for money for different reasons, effectively extorting the women through his status as their partner.

Given that ultimately the scammer got hundreds of thousands of pounds, it was only a matter of time before he was arrested. After pleading guilty, now Hussain was sentenced and is heading to prison, a report released by the Swindon Advertiser reveals. The 45-year-old man was sentenced by Swindon Crown Court to five years and four months by Judge Jason Taylor KC.

Using Humans as Piggy Banks

Upon announcing the sentencing, Judge Taylor explained that Hussain concealed his identity in an effort to trick women to receive money. He acknowledged that the man also used sob stories to provoke sympathy. However, the Judge noted that in reality, Hussain was a ruthless and cold-hearted person that scarred emotionally those women.

“You spun a web of lies to ingratiate yourself into these women’s lives and, once securely embedded, pulled on every emotional lever you could to extract money from them. To you, they were human piggy banks.“

Judge Jason Taylor KC

Addressing the emotional method used by Hussain, Judge Taylor called Hussain selfish and said that he used women like human piggy banks. Finally, the Judge noted: “You expressed regret and embarrassment but did not show genuine remorse.”

To fund his gambling habit, Hussain obtained above $250,000 from his victims. Between December 2013 and December 2014, from his first victim, he took some £15,500 ($19,500). Then, between June 2014 and June 2020, from his second victim, he obtained £140,000 ($176,000). From the third woman, between October 2015 and July 2017, Hussain was able to extort some £48,500 ($61,000).

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