Vegas shooter had 200+ reports of suspicious activities, large financial transactions in casinos

ABC News ^ | October 4, 2017 | By MIKE LEVINE

[Oldeconomybuyer]

As authorities pick apart the life of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, they have come across one major thread of suspicious behavior: how he handled his money.

In the last three years alone, more than 200 reports about Paddock’s activities, particularly large transactions at casinos, have been filed with law enforcement authorities, ABC News was told.

While some of the reports centered around "suspicious activity," most were "currency transaction reports," which casinos are required to file with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network when a person withdraws or deposits more than $10,000 in cash.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Gambling is a good way to launder cash, and Paddock is said to be a "professional gambler" since 1988 and a real estate genius. Ain't buying it.

Investigators are being very very careful what they release to the public.

[BenLurkin]

Weren’t we told that he was “unknown” to the authorities?

[Fido969]

“Reports of suspicious activity” is modern cop-speak for handing large amounts of cash?

[ifinnegan]

Fill us less knowledgable types in on how gambling is used for laundering cash. I’m not sure how it works.

[exnavy]

Yes, another thread points to him possibly having connections to the intel folks. He may actually be a CIA operative.

[CatOwner]

This kind of cumulative transactions should have triggered a warning long before it hit the 200+ mark. That’s an average of over 5 per month for three years. That’s not supposed to be occurring without some sort of investigation. Then again, maybe it was investigated and that’s another bit of information to be scrubbed or buried by the FBI.

[Red Badger]

Easy.

When stopped by a cop, and he asks where you got all that cash, just say, “I won it!”.......................

[proust]

Casinos report/track your gains, not your losses. You fill out a form with your losses pretty much on the honor system. You can lose quite a bit at the casinos.

[discostu]

Turning cash into chips is generally not recorded. Turning enough chips into cash that you need a tax form is. Wander in with cash, hit the tables buying chips, do a little gambling, buy way more chips than you gamble, cash out and it all goes on your tax forms as “winnings”. As “unearned” income it gets taxed at a higher rate, but it’s an effective way for a lazy person launder their money.

[dead]

These would be financial transactions that the casinos would be obligated to report, mostly so the government could make sure they got their beak wet. Probably wouldn't trigger much beyond that.

Great way to launder dirty money.

[Meet the New Boss]

According to the AP, Eric Paddock described his brother as a multimillionaire and said they had business dealings and owned property together.

I'd bet there was a lot of money laundering going on in the real estate dealings, and he cut his brother in on the action as a silent partner.

Perhaps sham tenants funneling money from cartels pay 'rent' in cash, and the cartels take an ownership interest in the real estate through a cut-out, with Paddock getting a small percent to manage it.

Whoever he was laundering money for basically owned him and could pressure him to do whatever they wanted to.

[humblegunner]

Maybe he is an ex-Ninja Frogman who managed the impromptu
underwater machine shop that swapped out the engine on
Fuddy’s plane and injected her with death serum.

Because that happened.

[rstrahan]

Transactions over $1000 have to be disclosed. I have a bunch over the years. It used to be $10,000, but much less now as people were moving $9,990. In a casino, for repeat large-amount bettors, absolutely zero issues.

[ifinnegan]

Thanks.

They can report the money as gambling winnings.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

http://tucson.com/news/local/feds-target-casino-money-laundering/article_abb1c2b0-e8bc-5e6d-9a7c-d8ffca60d601.html

[dragnet2]

Bookmark

[Alberta's Child]

If this has been going on since 1988 and nothing happened to him over that period, then he was probably reporting any casino winnings to the IRS as required by law. This is probably something that a serious money-launderer would do. One of the best ways to “clean” the money is to do it according to the letter of the law as far as the IRS is concerned.

[Go Gordon]

Fill us less knowledgable types in on how gambling is used for laundering cash. I’m not sure how it works

Sit down at a gaming table. Give drug money to the dealer for chips. Play for awhile. Cash in the chips (or slips) for cash from the casino. Drug money is now clean money.

[samtheman]

The media talks about him being a “gambler” as if you can actually make money against casinos.

There are only 2 ways to consistently win in a casino:

1. Live poker against other poker players (not against the casino)

2. Cheating

(And #2 isn’t that consistent in the long run.)

So WTF are they talking about? I know poker has been mentioned... but I’ll tell you something that I am 100% sure of... 1000% sure of...

NOBODY BEATS SLOT MACHINES UNLESS THEY HAVE A METHOD OF CHEATING

NOBODY

NOBODY

NOBODY

I’m not talking about some lucky tourist schlub hitting a big jackpot and then going home and never returning.

I’m talking about a regular “gambler” playing slot machines on a regular basis.

NOBODY WINS

NOBODY

[Fishtalk]

Allow me to agree with you.

There’s something going on and it’s being released with care.

I admit, with shame I suppose, but it is damn intriguing.