A former president of MGM Grand casino was placed on a year’s probation and fined $9,500 for failing to file required reports of suspicious transactions made by a Newport Coast man who operated an illegal gambling business, officials announced Wednesday.
Scott Sibella, 61, of Las Vegas, had pleaded guilty in January before U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee to one count of failure to file reports of suspicious transactions. Such reports are required by the Bank Secrecy Act to be filed by casinos, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In related matters that resolve an investigation into alleged violations of money laundering laws and the BSA, MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casinos have entered into settlements that require them to pay a combined $7.45 million, undergo external review and enhance their anti-money laundering compliance program, the DOJ said.
According to his plea agreement, Sibella was the president of MGM Grand from at least August 2017 until February 2019, during which time he knew that a casino patron, Wayne Nix, ran and operated an illegal bookmaking business.
Despite knowing this, Sibella allowed Nix to gamble at MGM Grand and affiliated properties with illicit proceeds generated from the illegal gambling business without notifying the casino’s compliance department. Sibella also authorized Nix to receive complimentary benefits at the casino, including meals, room, board and golf trips with senior executives and other high net-worth customers of the casinos to further encourage Nix to patronize the casino and/or other affiliated properties, prosecutors said.
According to court documents unsealed in January, Sibella admitted to law enforcement in 2022 that he believed Nix was involved in illegal sports bookmaking, but “didn’t want to know because of my position … If we know, we can’t allow them to gamble. … I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to know, I guess because he wasn’t doing anything to cheat the casino.”