CHICAGO — A federal jury has convicted a Chicago resident of stealing $700,000 from a Potawatomi Indian casino in Michigan by tricking one of its employees to turn over the cash. Jesus Gaytan-Garcia, 44, found guilty of aiding and abetting interstate transportation of stolen property and theft from an Indian tribal organization, will be sentenced on April 25 in Kalamazoo.
On July 30, 2023, someone using a Cancun, Mexico, phone number called the Four Winds Casino Hartford and identified himself as “Charles Martinez,” the tribal chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, an FBI agent said in a complaint against Gaytan-Garcia. “Martinez” was connected with a manager in the casino cage, the area where large amounts of cash are counted and secured.
The FBI agent alleged that while that conversation was underway, the cage manager began receiving text messages from a New Jersey phone number from a person who claimed to be her boss. The “boss” said they needed “discreet” assistance making an urgent payment within 20 minutes…