密歇根硬币经销商向老虎机投入 500 万美元，被控诈骗客户

密歇根州贝城的一名硬币、珠宝和贵金属交易商被指控骗取客户数十万美元，并用他们的钱进行赌博。

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.

密歇根州贝城的一名硬币、珠宝和贵金属交易商被指控骗取客户数十万美元，并用他们的钱进行赌博。

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 岁的马修·约瑟夫·伯顿 (Matthew Joseph Burton) 周一被指控犯有几项重罪，罪名与他未能履行与他的两家企业（贝城的 Flying Eagle Coins 和 Mt. Pleasant 的 Jack of All Trades）的客户的购买协议有关。

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.

伯顿曾多次从客户处接受预付款以换取贵金属，但未能支付货款。根据法庭记录，与此同时，他在 Mt. Pleasant 的 Soaring Eagle 赌场赌博超过 500 万美元。

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.

密歇根州警方于 2023 年 1 月开始调查伯顿，据称他从一名客户那里收取了 12.7 万美元以换取贵金属。检察官称，他随后离开该州一年多，没有履行自己的承诺。

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，贝县治安官办公室收到一名 72 岁男子的投诉后展开调查，这名男子向伯顿支付了 2 万美元购买黄金和白银。该男子收到了 9,665 美元的黄金和白银，并承诺用白银支付剩余余额。

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

检察官称，几个月过去了，尽管他多次努力联系伯顿，但受害人仍未收到他的银子。

“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.”

根据法庭文件，该男子告诉警方，“总有借口。” “他说他们关门了，因为他感染了新冠病毒或其他什么……在 Facebook 上，马特在狮子队比赛中发布了一套套房的照片，所以他靠我的钱过着大笔的生活。”

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.

当调查人员得知伯顿是翱翔之鹰的常客时，他们获得了他的球员俱乐部奖励卡的历史，这让阅读变得很有趣。

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.

显示他在老虎机上投入了 5,188,046.04 美元，兑现了 4,235,304.96 美元，损失了近 100 万美元。当他从 72 岁的受害者那里收到 2 万美元的时候，他向机器里投入了 3.3 万美元。

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

据警方报告，他每天都去赌场，但 2023 年 10 月去了两次，每天的老虎机捐款从 5000 美元到 10 万美元不等。

“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.

当局得出结论：“对马修·伯顿的翱翔鹰赌场玩家卡的检查表明，马修正在使用当铺黄金销售所得的钱进行赌博。”

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.

根据法庭记录，其他几名客户声称伯顿欠他们 1400 美元到 60000 美元不等的金额，伯顿给了他们支票，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.

被告定于分别于 11 月 8 日和 11 月 22 日在伊莎贝拉县和海湾县地方法院出席初步听证会。最严重的诈骗罪名是 10 万美元或以上，最高可判处 20 年监禁。