Two Nebraska men are facing wire fraud and other charges after they allegedly stole more than $350,000 from the Grand River Casino near Mobridge, South Dakota.
Two Nebraska men have been indicted for wire fraud, theft on Indian Lands, and transportation of stolen money
According to recently unsealed federal court documents, Roberto Carlos Gonzales Miranda and Roberto Orellana have been indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit theft from a gaming establishment on Indian Lands, and transportation of stolen money.
Court documents reveal that both Miranda and Orellana targeted Grand River Casino in February 2024. The casino is owned and operated by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. An unnamed woman called the casino and spoke with a cage manager.
Afterwards, a man pretending to be a collections contractor for the USPS said the casino owed $700,000 in fees for an audit or inspection and additional fines would come if cash wasn’t paid immediately.
Casino worker was directed to empty the vault and deposit the cash at a Bitcoin ATM in Aberdeen
According to court documents, the woman remained on the landline phone with the casino and was working with the fake collections agent. A third text, from an unknown number, claiming to be the cage manager’s supervisor directed the casino worker to “empty the vault and deposit the cash at a Bitcoin ATM in Aberdeen, South Dakota.”
Furthermore, the casino worker moved $352,000 from the casino vault to Aberdeen by vehicle. The worker was later called to meet in a parking lot in Mitchell to hand over the money, court documents said.
Upon arriving to Mitchell, Miranda took the cash and an unknown co-conspirator wired Orellana $1,600. The exchange was made for his part in the fraud. The $350,000 was turned over to the men in the parking lot of Dakota Sunset gas station.
Surveillance footage from the Dakota Sunset gas station helped the DCI identify the credit card and vehicle
Brian Larson, a special agent with the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), obtained surveillance footage from the gas station. The video helped identify the credit card used by one of the males who received the stolen cash.
Additionally, the credit card tracing led authorities to an Omaha resident in Nebraska. The resident owned a vehicle matching the vehicle used by the men during the cash exchange in Mitchell.
Grand theft in the amount between $100,000 and $500,000 is a Class 3 felony. In fact, it carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
Grand River Casino opened in March 1994. It is located four miles west of Mobridge on Highway 12.
