Posted on: June 11, 2024, 08:30h.
Last updated on: June 11, 2024, 08:59h.
A former employee at the Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Colorado’s Black Hawk who admitted to taking $500K in cash from the property and delivering it to who she thought was a company official has been cleared of wrongdoing.
The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office revealed Friday that a probe of the criminal incident concluded that Sabrina Eddy, who was working as a casino cage cashier in March 2023, was only a victim of the scam and not part of the criminal group that orchestrated the theft.
On March 12, 2023, around 1 a.m. local time in the historic mining settlement where casino gambling was legalized in 1991, Eddy received a call from a man identifying himself as the head of casino operations. She also received several texts on her phone from a person who she thought was her immediate supervisor.
The phone call and texts instructed her to pack up $300K in cash and bring the money to a nearby hospital where she would meet a lawyer in the parking garage who would collect the funds. The man on the phone and the texts said the casino was amid some sort of financial crisis and immediate cash was needed.
They told Eddy to conceal the cash in a bag to circumvent security. After delivering the $300K, Eddy returned to the casino where she fielded another call and more texts for an additional $200K. She performed the trick again and handed off the money for a second time outside the hospital.
Employee Was Duped
State prosecutors say Eddy became uneasy after the second delivery where she was told to stay at the hospital for some time before returning to her job. She tried to phone her immediate supervisor but they did not pick up.
She then called the casino and told them what she’d been up to. The manager on duty called the police and Eddy was booked into the Gilpin County Jail the same day.
Mexican national Juan Ivan Gutierrez Zambrano later pleaded guilty to his role in the theft. Zambrano claimed he was paid to receive the casino money at the hospital before delivering it to a third party who he says he didn’t know directly.
Zambrano was charged with two counts of criminal mischief, a felony, and a misdemeanor, and could be deported to Mexico. Law enforcement remains searching for a third suspect but the person’s name remains sealed under a court order.
Police, however, don’t believe that individual is still in the United States. The prosecutor’s office didn’t say whether any of the $500K has been recovered.
Charges Dropped
The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office said the evidence didn’t support moving forward with charges against Eddy. She was previously charged with a single count of felony theft, which carried a possible prison sentence of four to 12 years.
The company reported net income last year of $82.4 million on revenue of $501.5 million. Gaming at the two casinos accounted for $282.3 million.
