News

Actions

Harper Woods man pleads guilty to wire fraud through casino kiosks

casino generic
Posted at 9:46 AM, Apr 07, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-07 09:46:21-04

(WXYZ) — A Harper Woods man pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity fraud after wearing prosthetic face masks to hid his identity.

John Christopher Colletti, 56, is accused of a scheme to defraud and obtain money from the accounts of Global Payments Gaming Services' VIP Preferred Program patrons.

“This defendant went to extraordinary lengths to hide his identity in order to steal others identities and money,” Acting US Attorney Saima Mohsin. “I commend the work of the FBI agents for tracking Colletti down and helping bring him to justice.”

According to court records, in or around April 26, 2019, and continuing through March 12, 2020, Colletti unlawfully accessed accounts in the names of several individual victims using GPGS’s kiosks located within various casino properties in at least two states, including the MGM Grand in Detroit.

Colletti used names, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security Numbers assigned to known individuals in order to access one or more account in those individuals’ names. Upon gaining access to these accounts, officials say Colletti initiated numerous transactions, withdrawing thousands of dollars from these accounts.

In making these withdrawals, Colletti attempted to disguise himself by wearing one or more full prosthetic face masks. Colletti defrauded his victims out of approximately $125,740.

Officials say Colletti had in his possession pieces of personally identifiable information for approximately 300 identities, as well as several full prosthetic facemasks.

As part of his guilty plea, Colletti will be required to pay restitution to GPGS in the full amount of $125,740.

Colletti faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment on the charge of wire fraud and a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years imprisonment on the charge of identity fraud.