DETROIT – A Detroit-area man allegedly used several prosthetic face masks, other disguise props and more than 100 counterfeit documents in an elaborate plot to defraud casino patrons in Michigan and Kansas of about $120,000.
John Christopher Colletti, 55, of Harper Woods, is charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and fraud and related activity in connection with access devices, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan by FBI Special Agent Julia MacBeth.
The alleged crimes occurred at MGM Grand Casino in Detroit, where at least 10 victims were defrauded of nearly $100,000 during April and May 2019, and at Prairie Band Casino in Mayetta, Kan., where Colletti allegedly stole more than $20,000 from victims in March, according to the complaint.
Colletti allegedly used several complex disguises that included prosthetic masks, hats, glasses and a mobility walker to carry out unauthorized e-check withdrawals from Global Payment kiosks inside casinos, the complaint says. To complete the alleged scheme, Colletti also obtained counterfeit driver’s licenses and personal information, including Social Security numbers, phone numbers and birth dates.
Colletti was arrested on March 12 by Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Police in Kansas. After his arrest, police found hundreds of articles of incriminating evidence in a rental vehicle Colletti was using and in a storage unit rented in his name, the complaint said.
Evidence found in the vehicle included paint cans containing ID cards: 83 driver’s licenses, 14 insurance cards in multiple names, six open water diver certification cards, two Binghampton University staff ID cards, 19 players cards from various casinos, and one Social Security card for Michael Harris (an alias allegedly created and used by Colletti), the complaint said.
Police also found in the vehicle a straw hat with a black ribbon that matched one allegedly worn by the suspect while making withdrawals from victim accounts at the Detroit casino in May 2019, the complaint said.. Various items of clothing, cell phones, flash drives, computer tablets, a counterfeit $100 bill, books on how to get away with crimes, surgical masks and a brief case were also in the vehicle.
A search of the storage unit found mannequin heads used to display prosthetic masks, duplicate copies of 48 of the driver’s licenses found in the vehicle, more than 250 Global Payment kiosk receipts from MGM Grand, and a box for a mobility walker that Colletti was allegedly seen using as part of a disguise., the complaint said.
Officers reviewed the contents of the flash drives found in the vehicle. They contained forgery documents; background checks on individuals; tutorials and manuals on how to counterfeit money and commit other financial crimes; videos of Global Payment kiosks inside the MGM Grand; handwritten signatures; and excel spreadsheets with more than 1,000 names and coinciding birth dates, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, places of work, bank routing and account numbers, and monthly salaries, the complaint said.
Colletti was arrested by tribal police on March 12 after casino security asked him to go to the cashier’s cage to collect over $20,000 in cash withdrawals, which required a Social Security number for reporting purposes, the complaint said. He was wearing a straw hat and glasses and was using a walker when confronted by security. Colletti then went to a restroom, removed his disguise and left the casino with a noticeable bulge - believed to be the prosthetic face mask - in the front of his pants. Security found other pieces of the disguise and $11,000 in the restroom. He was later located by police and arrested; he had another $16,000 on his person.
Local law enforcement contacted the FBI, which tied Colletti to the similar crimes in Detroit.
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