密西根硬幣經銷商向老虎機投入 500 萬美元，被控詐騙客戶

密西根州貝城的一名硬幣、珠寶和貴金屬交易商被指控騙取客戶數十萬美元，並用他們的錢進行賭博。

A coin, jewelry, and precious metals dealer from Bay City, Mich. is accused of bilking his customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and gambling on their dime.

密西根州貝城的一名硬幣、珠寶和貴金屬交易商被指控騙取客戶數十萬美元，並用他們的錢進行賭博。

Matthew Joseph Burton, 52, was charged Monday with several counts of felony false pretenses related to his failure to honor purchase agreements with customers at his two businesses, Flying Eagle Coins in Bay City and Jack of All Trades in Mt. Pleasant.

52 歲的馬修約瑟夫伯頓(Matthew Joseph Burton) 週一被指控犯有幾項重罪，罪名與他未能履行與他的兩家企業（貝城的Flying Eagle Coins 和Mt. Pleasant 的Jack of All Trades）的客戶的購買協議有關。

On numerous occasions, Burton accepted money up front from customers in exchange for precious metals but failed to stump up the goods. At the same time, he gambled upwards of $5 million at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, according to court records.

伯頓曾多次向客戶接受預付款以換取貴金屬，但未能支付貨款。根據法庭記錄，與此同時，他在 Mt. Pleasant 的 Soaring Eagle 賭場賭博超過 500 萬美元。

Michigan state police began looking into Burton in January 2023 after he allegedly took $127K from a customer in exchange for precious metals. He then left the state for over a year without fulfilling his end of the bargain, prosecutors claim.

密西根州警方於 2023 年 1 月開始調查伯頓，據稱他從一名客戶那裡收取了 12.7 萬美元以換取貴金屬。檢察官稱，他隨後離開該州一年多，沒有履行自己的承諾。

That same month, Bay County Sherrif’s Office launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from a 72-year-old man who had paid Burton $20K for gold and silver. The man received $9,665 in gold and silver and a promise that the remaining balance would be paid in silver.

同月，貝縣治安官辦公室收到一名 72 歲男子的投訴後展開調查，這名男子向伯頓支付了 2 萬美元購買黃金和白銀。該男子收到了 9,665 美元的黃金和白銀，並承諾用白銀支付剩餘餘額。

Months passed, and despite his numerous efforts to contact Burton, the victim did not receive his silver, prosecutors claimed.

檢察官稱，幾個月過去了，儘管他多次努力聯繫伯頓，但受害者仍未收到他的銀子。

“There is always an excuse,” the man told police, according to court filings. “He was saying they were closed because he had COVID or something … On Facebook, Matt is posting pictures in a suite at the Lions game, so he’s living large on my dime.”

根據法庭文件，該男子告訴警方，“總有藉口。” 「他說他們關門了，因為他感染了新冠病毒或其他什麼……在Facebook 上，馬特在獅子隊比賽中發布了一套套房的照片，所以他靠我的錢過著大筆的生活。 」

When investigators learned that Burton was a regular visitor to the Soaring Eagle, they obtained the history of his Player’s Club reward card, and it made for interesting reading.

當調查人員得知伯頓是翱翔之鷹的常客時，他們獲得了他的球員俱樂部獎勵卡的歷史，這讓閱讀變得很有趣。

It showed he’d plowed $5,188,046.04 into slot machines, cashing out $4,235,304.96 for a loss of almost $1 million. On the day he received the $20K from the 72-year-old victim he poured $33K into the machines.

顯示他在老虎機上投入了 5,188,046.04 美元，兌現了 4,235,304.96 美元，損失了近 100 萬美元。當他從 72 歲的受害者那裡收到 2 萬美元的時候，他向機器裡投入了 3.3 萬美元。

He visited the casino every day but two in October 2023, with daily slot contributions ranging from $5K to $100K, according to police reports.

根據警方報告，他每天都去賭場，但 2023 年 10 月去了兩次，每天的老虎機捐款從 5,000 美元到 10 萬美元不等。

“A look into Matthew Burton’s Soaring Eagle Casino Player’s Card suggests that Matthew is using the money from the pawn shop gold sales to gamble with,” authorities concluded.

當局得出結論：“對馬修伯頓的翱翔鷹賭場玩家卡的檢查表明，馬修正在使用當舖黃金銷售所得的錢進行賭博。”

Several other customers claim they are owed sums ranging from $1.4K to $60K by Burton, who gave them checks that bounced, according to court records.

根據法庭記錄，其他幾名客戶聲稱伯頓欠他們 1400 美元到 60000 美元不等的金額，伯頓給了他們支票，但支票被退回。

The defendant is scheduled to appear for preliminary hearings in Isabella and Bay counties’ district courts on Nov. 8 and Nov. 22, respectively. The most serious charge of false pretenses of $100,000 or more comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

被告定於 11 月 8 日和 11 月 22 日分別在伊莎貝拉縣和海灣縣地方法院出席初步聽證會。最嚴重的詐騙罪名是 10 萬美元或以上，最高可判處 20 年監禁。