Posted on: February 10, 2023, 02:30h.
Last updated on: February 10, 2023, 03:40h.
Two Nevada William Hill employees are accused of tampering with sports betting kiosks as part of a scheme to embezzle more than $280K from the company, 8 News Now has discovered.
Shravan Singh, a supervisor, and Paige Steiner, a customer service agent, used internal computer programs to fraudulently load money onto William Hill kiosks across Nevada, according to court documents. This would allow co-conspirators to print and redeem altered kiosk vouchers for cash, prosecutors claim.
William Hill, now owned by Caesars Entertainment, is the biggest sports betting operator in Nevada, with more than 100 outlets throughout the state.
3,000 Infractions
Other William Hill workers alleged to have taken part in the conspiracy are named in court documents seen by 8 News Now. But the CBS-affiliated news channel has declined to name them because they haven’t yet been arrested.
Singh is accused of making around 3,000 fraudulent cash adjustments on 166 separate dates between October 2021 and January 19 of this year, when he was fired by William Hill.
His job was to oversee the “day-to-day reporting of any cash adjustments on kiosks over $500, which would be classified as ‘unaccounted for money,’” according to court documents.
Due to Singh’s position, and his involvement, the embezzlement was not initially caught by William Hill,” prosecutors wrote. “Singh’s participation prevented the reporting to compliance of not only his fraudulent cash adjustments but [others] as well.”
When an internal audit by the sports betting operator uncovered anomalies, it notified the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), which began an investigation in December 2022.
Caught in the Act
NGC detectives began monitoring Singh’s computer activity, which showed him helping Steiner redeem vouchers at tampered kiosks across the Las Vegas valley, according to prosecutors.
William Hill kiosks capture images of users and store information on transactions, which allowed investigators to identify the suspected culprits.
Based on the annual reports from Singh and each co-conspirator, there was no justification as to why they were observed at so many kiosks withdrawing vouchers and cashing out large sums of money,” investigators said.
“None of the suspects had any wagering history, which would suggest they had won thousands of dollars,” they added. “Therefore, [it was] concluded the only purpose each suspect observed at the various kiosks [had] was to assist Singh in embezzling money from William Hill.”
Steiner appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom on Thursday and was released on her own recognizance. She and Singh face hundreds of counts on charges including embezzlement, forgery, forgery by altering computer data, and conspiracy to commit embezzlement, court records show.
