http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-85662854/
Normandie Casino pleads guilty to helping high-rollers hide winnings, will forfeit $1.3 million
January 22, 2016, 5:29 p.m.
One of Southern California's oldest casinos has pleaded guilty to shielding several high-rollers from federal reporting requirements and violating the Bank Secrecy Act, according to court documents filed Friday.
The Normandie Casino in Gardena failed to properly record and report a series of large-scale cash transactions in 2013, according to the documents.
Federal law requires casinos to record the identities, addresses, Social Security numbers and taxpayer information of any gambler who cashes out more than $10,000 in winnings.
The Normandie Club, which opened on Rosecrans Avenue in the 1940s, already has entered into a plea deal and agreed to forfeit $1.3 million in ill-gotten earnings, documents show. The casino's managing partners also agreed to pay $1 million in federal fines, according to the plea agreement.
"The Normandie has cooperated with the government to resolve this case in a positive way that allows the club to move forward from this investigation and to continue doing business as it has for the past 70 years, as the best gambling establishment in Southern California," said Mark Werksman, the attorney representing the casino.
The casino staff helped its most valued players conceal their winnings by breaking up large transactions into smaller amounts, or by listing the names of "independent gaming promoters," rather than the actual gamblers, when filing reports with the U.S. Treasury, documents show.
Federal prosecutors also accused the casino of failing to scrutinize cash transactions that it "had reason to suspect" were tantamount to money laundering.
In 2013, the casino failed to record identifying information for one player who recorded more than $1 million in winnings during a six-week span, court records show.
No individual managing partners or owners are facing criminal charges or jail time, according to Werksman.
The club is the last casino operating in Gardena, once considered a haven for gambling in Southern California.
In recent decades, the casino has lost many of its players to newer facilities such as the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood. The Commerce Casino also has become popular with Los Angeles-area poker professionals who have made their name on the national circuit in recent years.
Normandie Casino pleads guilty to helping high-rollers hide winnings, will forfeit $1.3 million
January 22, 2016, 5:29 p.m.
One of Southern California's oldest casinos has pleaded guilty to shielding several high-rollers from federal reporting requirements and violating the Bank Secrecy Act, according to court documents filed Friday.
The Normandie Casino in Gardena failed to properly record and report a series of large-scale cash transactions in 2013, according to the documents.
Federal law requires casinos to record the identities, addresses, Social Security numbers and taxpayer information of any gambler who cashes out more than $10,000 in winnings.
The Normandie Club, which opened on Rosecrans Avenue in the 1940s, already has entered into a plea deal and agreed to forfeit $1.3 million in ill-gotten earnings, documents show. The casino's managing partners also agreed to pay $1 million in federal fines, according to the plea agreement.
"The Normandie has cooperated with the government to resolve this case in a positive way that allows the club to move forward from this investigation and to continue doing business as it has for the past 70 years, as the best gambling establishment in Southern California," said Mark Werksman, the attorney representing the casino.
The casino staff helped its most valued players conceal their winnings by breaking up large transactions into smaller amounts, or by listing the names of "independent gaming promoters," rather than the actual gamblers, when filing reports with the U.S. Treasury, documents show.
Federal prosecutors also accused the casino of failing to scrutinize cash transactions that it "had reason to suspect" were tantamount to money laundering.
In 2013, the casino failed to record identifying information for one player who recorded more than $1 million in winnings during a six-week span, court records show.
No individual managing partners or owners are facing criminal charges or jail time, according to Werksman.
The club is the last casino operating in Gardena, once considered a haven for gambling in Southern California.
In recent decades, the casino has lost many of its players to newer facilities such as the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood. The Commerce Casino also has become popular with Los Angeles-area poker professionals who have made their name on the national circuit in recent years.
