Pair Sentenced In Livermore 580 Casino Cheating Scheme
LIVERMORE (CBS SF/BCN) -- A couple found guilty of felony grand theft from a Livermore casino were sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to repay more than half a million dollars in restitution, state prosecutors said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the sentencing Wednesday of Eric Nguyen and Khanh "Tina" Tran, who were charged in 2020 for a gambling scheme they ran at the 580 Casino in Livermore between 2015 and 2017.
The husband and wife pled guilty to a scheme to cheat at the card game Baccarat while Tran was working as a dealer at the casino. According to a press statement from Bonta, as part of the scheme, Tran would peek at a sequence of cards after shuffling and would convey the sequence to Nguyen before she left the table. Nguyen would then begin to play at that same table and place significant wagers when he recognized the sequence of cards relayed by Tran.
The pair were arrested on May 6, 2020, in Harris County, Texas, on California felony arrest warrants.
"Breaking the law is never the right way to get ahead," said Bonta in a prepared statment. "We will not tolerate criminal activity in our state. Today's announcement holds accountable Nguyen and Tran and sends a message that cheating in California will not lead to success."
The announcement is the result of an investigation conducted by special agents with the California Department of Justice's Division of Law Enforcement, according to a news release from Bonta's office.
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