Who is Erik Gutierrez? Man charged with posing as Las Vegas casino owner and convincing staff to hand over $1M
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Erik Gutierrez has been charged with stealing over $1 million from a casino and hotel in downtown Las Vegas. The man allegedly conned the Circa Hotel & Casino of $1,170,000 by “claiming to be the owner of the hotel” and asserting that the money was required for fire safety procedures.
An employee from the security office of the hotel informed the cops that “an unknown person” called Casino Cage was “claiming to be the owner of the hotel,” reported 8 News Now, citing court documents. The person then demanded $320,000 since they needed to pay the amount to the fire department on an urgent basis, as per the staff.
Who is Erik Gutierrez?
Not much information is available about Gutierrez except that he is a 23-year-old man who posed as the owner of a hotel to loot millions of money from the Circa Hotel & Casino. Reports further state that he has been pressed with a similar charge in the past out of Mesquite Justice Court, where his bond was set at $20,000.
During the probe, investigators also interrogated the supervisor, who had spoken with the accused, who pretended to be the owner on the phone. The employee alleged that Gutierrez told her that “the fire department needed to do a check on the fire extinguishers” and “they would need a payment for further safety devices.” Furthermore, the hotel worker reportedly went on to pay $314,000, $350,000, and $500,000, respectively, along with three more payments of a less amount at different off-site places.
How was Erik Gutierrez caught?
As per reports, Gutierrez had used a car to commit the alleged crime, and after finding that vehicle, cops found out it was registered in the name of his aunt. Investigators searched for the car as well as the house where the accused lived with the aunt and recovered a “large bag of U.S. currency bundled together with the name Circa written on the bundle.” Eventually, Gutierrez was detained at a gym on June 18.
Though cops got hold of $850,000, they reportedly still need to find the location of $314,000. Meanwhile, the bond amount for the alleged conman has been set at $25,000 by Judge Amy Ferreira, and he has also been asked to keep his distance from Circa and the Fremont Street Experience if he gets bail. Derek Stevens, CEO of Circa, released a statement saying, “Although I love a good PR story, this isn’t one of them. Circa Resort & Casino is cooperating with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in this investigation. We greatly appreciate their efforts to date and cannot comment further due to an ongoing investigation.”