Las Vegas, Nev. - Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, Keith Copher, Chief of Enforcement for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and Ellen B. Knowlton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for Nevada, announced that on October 7, 2002, PEDRO MATA was sentenced by United States District Court Judge David Hagen in Las Vegas, Nevada, to one year and one day in federal prison for his guilty plea to Wire Fraud. MATA, a Slot Technical Supervisor at the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas on May 1, 2002, and charged with Wire Fraud, Interstate Transportation of Property Taken by Fraud, and Money Laundering.

According to court records, between November 2000 and July 2001, in order to defraud the Treasure Island Casino of money, MATA misrepresented his authority and position at Treasure Island as that of "Director of Slot Operations" when, in fact, MATA was employed as the "Slot Technical Supervisor". MATA endorsed documents on Treasure Island letterhead, accepted payment for slot machines on behalf of Treasure Island Casino, and signed documents as "Director of Slot Operations." MATA had no authority to conduct slot machine sales without approval of others at the Treasure Island Casino, and MATA did not report the sales to the proper people at the casino.

Part of MATA's scheme included an unauthorized sale in February 2001 to the owner of a gaming business in Clayton, Ohio. In that transaction, MATA sold 116 slot machines to the business owner for approximately $95,000. The business owner then wired the monies to a credit union account in Las Vegas in MATA's name, and upon receiving the funds in the credit union account, MATA did not forward the payments to Treasure Island Casino, but rather used the funds to pay off personal credit card debt, automobile loans, ski vacations, new home payments, and tax bills.

In addition to the period of imprisonment, MATA was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison, and ordered to pay full restitution of $176,000 to the Treasure Island Casino, which is owned and operated by MGM/Mirage, Inc.

The prosecution was the result of an investigation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Roberts.

 

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