Former Fortune Bay Casino Supervisor Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $300,000
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Minnesota
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Former Fortune Bay Casino Supervisor Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $300,000
Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk today announced the guilty plea of JENNIFER LYNN BOUTTO, 32, to one count of embezzlement and theft of Tribal funds. BOUTTO, who was charged by felony information on December 14, 2020, pleaded guilty this morning before Judge Eric C. Tostrud in U.S. District Court. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed with the court, in 2008, BOUTTO began working as a reservationist at the Fortune Bay Resort Casino, which is owned and operated by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. BOUTTO later received a promotion to Front Desk Supervisor, a position that allowed her to issue cash refunds without direct supervision. Between January 2013 and October 2019, BOUTTO used her position at Fortune Bay to steal money by issuing false cash refunds against the invoices of previous Fortune Bay customers. BOUTTO would then access the Fortune Bay vault and retrieve the falsely refunded amount. In total, BOUTTO executed the scheme 2,994 times and stole $315,739.87.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, with significant assistance from the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan L. Sing is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
JENNIFER LYNN BOUTTO, 32
Orr, Minn.
Convicted:
Embezzlement and theft of Tribal funds, 1 count
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