Okhay Owingeh Pueblo Man Sentenced to Probation for Embezzling $25,900 from Cities of Gold Casino

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in Albuquerque federal court, Calvin R. Trujillo, 25, was sentenced to five years of probation for his conviction on a theft by an employee of a gaming establishment on Indian Land charge. Trujillo also was ordered to pay $25,900 in restitution.

On May 24, 2012, Trujillo pled guilty to a criminal information charging him with theft by an employee of a gambling establishment on Indian Land, under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In his plea agreement, Trujillo admitted that, between November 10, 2010 and December 22, 2010, he stole $25,900 from his employer, the Cities of Gold Casino, a gaming establishment operated by Pojoaque Pueblo and located on Pueblo land.

According to the plea agreement, while working as a slot supervisor at the casino, Trujillo devised a way of stealing money from the casino by taking manual payouts from the casino’s slot machines. Trujillo’s scheme involved using his keycard to fabricate a “win” on the slot machine, which would generate a ticket identifying the amount of his “win.” Trujillo then presented the ticket to the casino’s cashier, who paid him the amount reflected on the ticket. Trujillo admitted that he used this scheme repeatedly over a six-week period, during which he stole an aggregate of $25,900.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Trujillo already has served nine-months in tribal custody on tribal larceny charges arising out of the same events leading to the charge in the federal case.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Pojoaque Pueblo Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long.