Casino Whistleblower Sues Resorts World Over Wrongful Termination

A whistleblower is claiming that he was fired after he alerted his superiors of suspicious activity.

Preston Banks filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Monday. He claimed that Resorts World Las Vegas wrongfully terminated him and violated the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 by retaliating against whistleblowing. 

Banks is seeking reinstatement or front pay, 200% back pay with interest, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees

Resorts World fires whistleblower

Banks joined the Resorts World team in Sept. 2022 after working for about 16 years at the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 

His complaint asserts that shortly after his arrival, he identified a small group of international clients, most of them from Argentina, who could not verify the source of their incomes. Those individuals listed “did not exist or could not be located” on their casino credit applications.

The group of gamblers had grown to 60-150 people from Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Italy and Spain by 2024. These persons of interest used unverified funds, credit fraud, third-party payments, coordinated wagering, chip passing, chip walking, bankrolling, offsetting bets, and bill-stuffing, all of which are used to manipulate and cheat casinos, internal records show.

The complaint also stated that by Sept. 2024, more than 50 suspicious activity reports involving the group of gamblers had been filed. Banks also learned shortly thereafter that the father of one of the individuals on the list had been previously implicated in an unlicensed money transmitting scheme involving Wynn Las Vegas.

Banks had recommended enforcement measures for the first time in 2023. Although the suggestion was accepted, he claims that the casino’s anti-money laundering committee  continually delayed enforcement and did not get involved.

Wrongful or justified?

Casinos have a duty to inhibit illegal or manipulative activity that occurs at slot machines, table games, and other attractions by doing their best to prevent it, but also intervening when necessary. 

Despite Banks’ attempts to relay the seriousness — and potentially nefarious — nature of the situation, he claims the senior casino officials minimized his concerns. The complaint even said that executive vice president of casino operations Al Meranto described the gambling behavior as “cultural.”

Resorts World finally banned 28 customers linked to credit fraud and shared their account information with the Clark County district attorney on Sept. 11, nine days after Banks filed a comprehensive report on the "Argentina Scheme.” Resorts World hoped to collect $12-13 million in unpaid debt.

Banks then found out near the end of the month that he had been fired by the company. His supervisor and the human resources director both told him his termination was because of the illegal gambling scheme, which Banks claimed that he had identified, only to have it swept under the rug.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Banks has elected to file this frivolous action relating to the termination of his employment,” a statement provided by Resorts World to the Las Vegas Review-Journal said. “Resorts World strongly denies the allegations and characterizations in the lawsuit. We look forward to addressing these claims in the appropriate forum and have no further comment.”