A three count indictment has been filed in Federal Court against, Zhe Li, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China for his role in passing counterfeit chips through the Argosy Casino in Riverside Missouri.
The Penn National Gaming casino discovered the ring when a cashier alerted management to some black $100 chips that appeared to be slightly thicker than usual.
According to the indictment, Li exchanged some chips for cash and used others to wager on games of blackjack. The scheme continued for several months between October 19, 2008 and December 16, 2008.
Li could face up to 25 years in prison and be fined up to $1 million if convicted of all charges that include transporting the proceeds of fraud across state lines for transferring more than $15,000 to a bank in Florida, structuring deposits to avoid bank reporting requirements for allegedly making deposits into several bank accounts for less than $10,000 and making a false statement to a government agency for deceiving the Missouri Department of Social Services to collect more than $2,000 in food stamp benefits.






