灣城硬幣店老闆因涉嫌挪用顧客錢財並賭博500萬美元而面臨重罪

灣城市中心一家硬幣商店現已關閉，店主涉嫌挪用顧客錢財並賭博超過 500 萬美元，目前面臨多項重罪。

BAY CITY, MI — The owner of a now-closed downtown Bay City coin store is facing several felonies after allegedly taking customers’ money and gambling away more than $5 million.

密西根州灣城—灣城市中心一家硬幣商店現已關閉，店主因涉嫌挪用顧客資金並賭博超過 500 萬美元而面臨多項重罪。

The afternoon of Jan. 18, a 72-year-old man went to the Bay County Law Enforcement Center to file a fraud complaint. The man told police he had gone to Flying Eagle Coins, 918 Washington Ave. in downtown Bay City’s Davidson Building, in October and given $20,000 in cash to owner Matthew J. Burton in exchange for gold and silver.

1月18日下午，一名72歲男子前往貝縣執法中心通報詐騙。該男子告訴警方，他於10 月前往位於灣城市中心戴維森大廈華盛頓大道918 號的Flying Eagle Coins 店，向店主馬修·J·伯頓(Matthew J. Burton) 提供了2 萬美元現金，以換取黃金和白銀。

Burton, 43, never provided the man with the precious metals, the man told police. Instead, Burton kept putting him off with excuses, the man said.

該男子告訴警方，43 歲的伯頓從未向該男子提供過貴金屬。男子說，相反，伯頓一直用藉口拖延他。

The man said he had been a customer of Burton’s for several years and had previously purchased about $100,000 in gold and silver from him without issue. He said he knew Burton had a gambling problem and had previously lost large sums of money at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant.

該男子表示，他多年來一直是伯頓的客戶，此前曾從他那裡購買價值約 10 萬美元的黃金和白銀，沒有任何問題。他說，他知道伯頓有賭博問題，此前曾在芒特普萊森特的飛鷹賭場和度假村輸過大筆錢。

Burton was arrested Jan. 22 and arraigned in Bay County District Court on single counts of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony; and embezzlement by an agent or trustee over $100,000, a 15-year felony.

伯頓於 1 月 22 日被捕，並因實施犯罪活動的單一罪名在貝縣地方法院受審，罪名是 20 年重罪。代理人或受託人貪污超過 10 萬美元，構成 15 年重罪。

Burton is accused of embezzling more than $5.2 million from Flying Eagle Coins customers between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2019, court records show.

法庭記錄顯示，伯頓被指控在 2017 年 1 月 1 日至 2019 年 12 月 31 日期間從 Flying Eagle Coins 客戶貪污超過 520 萬美元。

Burton took customers’ money for the purchase of gold, silver, and other precious metals, but instead of fulfilling the orders, he deposited the funds into his personal bank account and used them to pay off gambling debts at the Soaring Eagle, court records state.

法庭記錄顯示，伯頓拿走了顧客的錢來購買黃金、白銀和其他貴金屬，但他沒有履行訂單，而是將這些資金存入自己的個人銀行賬戶，並用它們來償還翱翔鷹的賭債。 。

Burton also failed to pay Flying Eagle Coins’ employees, rent, utilities, and other expenses, court records show.

法庭記錄顯示，伯頓也未能支付 Flying Eagle Coins 的員工、租金、水電費和其他費用。

Burton on Jan. 22 appeared before District Judge Timothy J. Kelly for a preliminary examination. After hearing testimony from Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam D. Brouwer, Kelly bound Burton’s case over to Circuit Court for trial.

1 月 22 日，伯頓接受地區法官蒂莫西·J·凱利 (Timothy J. Kelly) 的初步審查。在聽取了貝縣副警長 Adam D. Brouwer 的證詞後，凱利將伯頓的案件交由巡迴法院審理。

Burton remains free on bond pending further court proceedings.

伯頓在等待進一步的法庭訴訟期間仍保持保釋。