Employee and patron plead in blackjack scam at Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate casino

Friday, August 11, 2017  

Two more guilty pleas have been reached in a blackjack scam at the casino owned by the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate.

Lito B. Bolocon, 44, was a former pit boss at the Dakota Sioux Casino in Watertown, South Dakota. He admitted to conspiring with Jordan A. Rondell, 29, a patron at the facility.

Rondell was paid illegitimate blackjack winnings and shared the proceeds with Bolocon, according to a factual basis statement. Jeremy K. Brown, 42, a former blackjack dealer, was part of the scam and also admitted he received a share of the stolen funds.

Brown's guilty plea was accepted at a court hearing in April and he is due to be sentenced on September 1. He already made a pre-payment of $2,100 in restitution as part of his agreement.

Bolocon and Rondell are due to be sentenced on November 20, leaving the case against Fern F. Gill, 52, another blackjack dealer at the casino, still on the table. He is set to go to trial on August 22, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.

The scam occurred over New Year's Eve in December 2015 and New Year's Day in January 2016, according to court documents.

"The agreement was for Rondell to unlawfully make a large sum of money from illegitimate winnings paid by Brown and Gill, and Rondell would then pay-off the other defendants, mainly Defendant Bolocon, for their participation," the factual basis in Bolocon's case reads. "As part of the cheat, Rondell would play blackjack while Brown and Gill were working as blackjack dealers. Throughout the night and early morning, Rondell played blackjack for extensive periods of time at the tables where either Brown or Gill were dealing."

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Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate casino cheated out of blackjack money (May 31, 2017)