Defendants Plead Guilty To Conspiring To Steal From Indian Tribe

Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announced today that Jasmine Hansell and her mother, Gunilla Marshall, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade to one count of conspiring to embezzle funds from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Alabama.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2017. 

Hansell previously worked as a game attendant for the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore.  In this capacity, she had access to the casino's internal computer system, which managed and tracked player accounts.  A compliance audit revealed that Hansell, without the tribe’s authorization, accessed over $250,000 in “free play” credits belong to the tribe and transferred credits to her mother's player account.  According to video surveillance and computer reports, Hansell and Marshall used and benefited from free play credits at the casino.   

In March 2017, the United States Attorney charged the defendants with one count of conspiring to embezzle and steal from an Indian tribal organization in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  The crime is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, three years of supervised release, a $100 mandatory special assessment, and restitution.        

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Sinan Kalayoglu is prosecuting the case.