Employee sentenced to prison for stealing cash from clogged machines at Gun Lake Casino
GRAND RAPIDS — A former employee of Gun Lake Casino was sentenced to four months behind bars for stealing thousands of dollars from “cash out” machines over a span of 14 months.
In addition to prison time, Jordan Lewis Cook, of Hopkins, was ordered to pay $84,564 in restitution for cash he pocketed while clearing out money jams in machines located in and around the floor of the Allegan County casino.
A federal judge in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Jan. 3, also ordered Cook to serve two years on supervised release.
Cook, 26, was charged last year with theft from an Indian tribal organization. He faced up to five years in prison.
According to a sentencing memorandum, Cook had no criminal history and “has led a good and productive life but for this incident.”
His job responsibilities at the casino included handling money and clearing out money jams. To do this, Cook used a card key to open the machine and remove crinkled or misfed bills, court records show.
Cook stole currency on at least 32 occasions, and then “made correspondingly large cash deposits into his Lake Michigan Credit Union bank account." Stolen cash was used to buy a Chevrolet pickup truck.
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An audit pegged the missing amount at $84,564, court records indicate.
“Mr. Cook’s behavior was very out of character for him and he maintains that it will never happen again,” defense attorney Jessica E. LaFond wrote in the sentencing memorandum.
“This case reflects my office’s strong commitment to working in partnership with tribal leadership and law enforcement to prosecute crimes that occur on tribal lands, including theft from tribal businesses,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten wrote in a statement. “Together, we will hold criminals accountable for their wrongdoing.”
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Employee sentenced to prison for stealing cash from Gun Lake Casino
