Authorities Arrest the Accomplice of Casino Machine Manipulator

The authorities have arrested the alleged accomplice of a man who tampered with a video roulette machine at a casino in Louisiana. The duo is believed to have manipulated a machine in order to cash in thousands of dollars in tickets.

The Two Men Are Said to Have Manipulated a Gambling Machine

According to the latest report, Michel Francklin, 57, was arrested by the Miami Police and extradited to Jefferson Parish a week ago. The man is believed to have assisted the 33-year-old Michael Shea in manipulating a video roulette machine at Boomtown New Orleans Casino and cashing in tickets worth thousands of dollars.

Shea, of Coral Springs, Florida, was arrested earlier this year and pleaded guilty to the allegations. He was taken in by the authorities on February 22 and pleaded guilty on May 6. According to Jefferson Parish court records, the man admitted to stealing more than $25,000.

While the authorities did not disclose the exact method the two men leveraged to cheat the machine and defraud the casino, they revealed that the fraud took place over three visits.

On the first day, August 6, 2022, the men spent 11 hours at Boomtown New Orleans Casino and cashed in 12 tickets worth $31,500. The culprits returned a day later for another 11-hour stay at the property and ended up cashing in $19,038. On the final day, Shea and Francklin took another $17,850.

Francklin’s Bail Was Set at $45,000

Shea was handed three years of active probation instead of the six-year prison sentence he initially faced. The man was also ordered to return the full amount he stole. His probation officer later filed a motion to revoke the probation since Shea missed a compliance court hearing and failed to make a restitution payment. He had also moved to California without securing permission from the court because he felt stressed.

Francklin, meanwhile, is being at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on three counts of theft and three counts of altering gaming equipment. His bail stands at $45,000.

In other crime-related news, a woman was shot near Missouri’s Ameristar Casino Resort Spa. The shooter was none other than her boyfriend, according to her own testimony. The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital but, as of yesterday, remained in critical condition.

Elsewhere, a casino winner was assaulted in her home by an armed robber. Luckily, her armed son was able to intervene quickly and shoot the criminal.