Adam Roarty is a journalist covering sports betting, regulation, and industry innovation for CasinoBeats. His coverage includes tax increases in the UK, covering breaking stories in the ever-evolving landscape of US betting such as the...
Read Full BioHigh-stakes gambler RJ Cipriani has filed a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act lawsuit against Resorts World Las Vegas and parent company Genting Berhad.
Cipriani was the whistleblower who previously alerted authorities to money laundering at the casino. Along with co-plaintiff Jim Russell, he is now seeking monetary damages, claiming that the casino’s mismanagement caused substantial financial losses.
The lawsuit, filed in Nevada, alleges that the casino operated “a corrupt racketeering enterprise” with “systemic disregard” for gambling laws. It claims that the company knowingly allowed illegal bookmakers to launder money at the property.
It states, “Since its celebrated Las Vegas opening in 2021, Resorts World has proven beyond question that it is unfit and incapable of operating a casino and hotel complex in compliance with the law.
“In fact, since opening Resorts World in 2021, Genting Berhad and Resorts World have proven their bona fides as a corrupt racketeering enterprise that operates with complete disregard of basic governance, corporate ethics, and the law.”
Complaint Alleges Failures Haven’t Been Corrected
It references the $10.5 million fine that Resorts World paid to the Nevada Gaming Control Board earlier this year. The fine related to anti-money laundering failures that allowed illegal bookmakers to gamble at the property.
The company implemented wholesale changes to its upper management. The complaint argues that the new executives, however, are also unfit to manage the property and states, “It is likely that this racketeering enterprise will continue its pattern.”
It describes Jim Murren, who was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors last year, as having a “nightmare” track record, referencing significant anti-money laundering failures that occurred when Murren was CEO of MGM Resorts.
MGM Resorts paid an $8.5 million fine over the failures, and Murren resigned from his post in 2020. Last month, Resorts World announced that Murren would move to the role of chairman emeritus.
Current & Former Executives Named in Lawsuit
Murren has not been named as a defendant, but other current and former executives have been. In addition to the companies, it names nine individuals as defendants, including the current Genting CEO KT Lim, as well as former executives and lawyers. The full list includes:
- Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (KT Lim) – CEO of Genting Group
- Scott Sibella – Former President of MGM Grand and Resorts World
- David Chesnoff – Attorney
- Matthew Forbes – VP Security
- Doni Taube – Former senior executive
- Joseph Tatonetti – Former surveillance operations manager
- Tonya Henderson – Former VP Compliance
- Elie Samarani – Former Director, Cage, Credit, Collections & Loyalty Club
- Brandon Sattler – Sentenced to 51 months in prison for defrauding Russell and others of $11 million
Sibella pleaded guilty to violating the federal Bank Secrecy Act, admitting to allowing money laundering at Resorts World and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He received a fine of $9,500 and was placed on one year of probation last year.
The lawsuit says Sibella “consistently aligned himself with the criminal element,” both in his role at MGM and Resorts World. The 95-page document goes on to criticize the company as “one of the worst examples of a governance and compliance disaster in the casino industry.”
Cipriani states that he reported the presence of known criminals gambling at the casino to Sibella, Taube, Forbes, Tatonetti, and others on the security and surveillance staff, but no action was taken.
Instead, Cipriani claims they joined together to harass, intimidate, threaten, and retaliate against him. He says they engineered false charges against him, which led to his arrest in 2021. His arrest led to casinos around the world banning him from entering. As a professional gambler, this deprived him of his livelihood for four years.
Ohtani Interpreter’s Bookie Named in Lawsuit
Russell alleges he lost $10 million in a fraudulent investment scheme involving black-market bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who then laundered funds at Resorts World. Bowyer was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and filing a false tax return.
His clients included Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who stole $17 million from the baseball star to gamble. Mizuhara received a sentence of almost five years for the theft.
Caesars Entertainment also agreed to pay a $7.8 million penalty for permitting Bowyer to gamble at its Las Vegas properties. Caesars, however, has not been named in the RICO lawsuit. Wynn Resorts similarly paid a $5.5 million penalty earlier this year for its failures.
Other illegal bookmakers named in the lawsuit include Wayne Nix, Damien LeForbes, and Edward Ting, who were all allowed to gamble their illicit funds at Resorts World.
The complaint demands a trial by jury and seeks triple damages for the investment loss and deprivation of livelihood caused by Resorts World and its staff.
