Two arrested following embezzlement probe at Red Hawk Casino

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Monday that two men have been arrested in an alleged embezzlement scheme at Red Hawk Tribal Casino in Placerville involving more than $200,000.

Luc Mooc and Prak Pich were arrested last Thursday following a probe by the state’s Bureau of Gambling Control and casino surveillance staff, Becerra said in an announcement Monday.

“Pich, a floor manager at the casino, would allegedly extend credit lines to Mooc, a casino patron, and then falsify documents to make it appear as if the credit line had been paid back,” Becerra’s office said. “These short term, no-interest credit lines are commonly extended by casinos to allow approved patrons easy access to gambling funds with the understanding that the temporary loan would be repaid within a short period of time.

“However, instead of paying back the loans, Mooc and Pich allegedly conspired to steal the funds that would range anywhere from $12,000 to $14,000 at a time.”

Both men were booked into the El Dorado County Jail last week on $200,000 bail and were scheduled to appear in El Dorado Superior Court Monday.

Red Hawk officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The alleged scheme is the second scandal at an area casino in recent weeks.

Last month, Stone’s Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights was sued for $30 million by gamblers who alleged a card player there, Michael Postle, was cheating at poker.

Postle’s attorney, William Portanova, said his client denied wrongdoing.

This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 1:37 PM.