In Rhode Island, a man has reportedly been arrested and charged for allegedly running an illicit scheme that resulted in counterfeit slot play vouchers being used inside the small state’s Tiverton Casino Hotel.

Massachusetts mailers:

According to a Friday report, Joseph Clement allegedly obtained genuine $25 vouchers from Massachusetts’ near Plainridge Park Casino through the post before altering them for use inside the Tiverton Casino Hotel. The 49-year-old then sold or bartered these counterfeit mailers to at least 25 people who subsequently used them to enjoy slot sessions worth up to $500.

Multiple infractions:

Rhode Island State Police Detective, Brendan Doyle, used a three-page narrative submitted to Newport Superior Court to detail that Clement had himself successfully redeemed counterfeit mailers worth $500 inside the Tiverton Casino Hotel on October 22 and 29 before passing off a third on December 3.

Doyle detailed that the Rhode Island State Police had used surveillance cameras inside Tiverton later that very same day to observe Clement and an unidentified female player successfully redeeming a voucher worth $500 by having the amount added to the woman’s loyalty slot card.

Serious sequester:

The Newport Daily News reported that Clement was arrested by Rhode Island State Police on December 17 while he was inside the facility operated by Twin River Worldwide Holdings Incorporated. Law enforcement officials disclosed that they had also confiscated 22 counterfeit vouchers and had subsequently consulted with a United States Postal Inspector to determine that the original mailers had been sent to Clement’s home in Merrimac, Massachusetts.

Criminal history:

The newspaper reported that Clement was subsequently released on $10,000 bail before being arraigned in Newport Superior Court on February 28. His 15 felony charges purportedly include multiple counts of counterfeiting and forgery alongside allegations of conspiracy, fraud and soliciting others to commit a crime.

Clement had pleaded innocent to all of the charges and is due to have his first pre-trial conference heard before Newport Superior Country Judge, Brian Van Couyghen, on June 6.

Doyle’s narrative reportedly reads…

“A criminal history check revealed Mr Clement has a criminal history that includes charges such as assault and battery, assault to kill, unauthorized access to a computer system, intimidation, rape of a child, disorderly, destruction of property and operation under the influence.”

Co-conspirators in court:

Finally, the  past two weeks have seen some of those arrested after taking advantage of Clement’s services plead no contest to obtaining property valued less than $1,500 under false pretenses. It explained that these pleas have resulted in defendants being placed on one year of probation, ordered to pay $1,500 towards the state’s Violent Crimes Indemnity Fund and given no-trespassing orders for Tiverton and the Twin River Casino Hotel, both of which are run by Twin River Worldwide Holdings Incorporated.