Key Takeaways
- Former Resorts World Las Vegas compliance director Preston Banks alleges he was fired 27 days after submitting a report on a suspicious international patron network.
- The casino barred 28 patrons and referred approximately $12 million–$13 million in unpaid casino credit for collection.
- Several alleged activities closely resemble FATF’s latest money-laundering indicators.
A former Resorts World Las Vegas compliance director claims he was fired less than a month after documenting a sprawling international patron network linked to unverifiable funds and up to $13 million in unpaid casino credit.
Preston Banks alleges in a federal complaint filed on Sept. 14 that management repeatedly delayed or limited its response to warning signs involving between 60 and 150 patrons.
Resorts World ultimately barred 28 members of the alleged network and referred their accounts to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office for collection of approximately $12 million–$13 million.
The casino and entertainment giant strongly denies the lawsuit’s allegations and has characterized the action as frivolous.
What Did the Resorts World Director Allegedly Find?
Banks joined Resorts World in September 2022 after spending 16 years at the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
His responsibilities included identifying suspicious activity and supporting the casino’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering controls.
Banks alleges he began examining a group of Argentinian patrons in late 2022 after the casino could not verify their reported sources of funds.
According to the complaint, some businesses listed on casino credit applications either did not exist or could not be located.
By 2024, the group allegedly included patrons from Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Italy, and Spain and had grown to somewhere between 60 and 150 people.
Internal records cited in the lawsuit allegedly identified several warning signs, including:
- Unverified sources of funds.
- Suspected casino credit fraud.
- Repeated third-party marker payments.
- Coordinated or “coached” wagering.
- Chip passing and chip walking.
- Minimal genuine gambling.
- Offsetting bets and bankrolling.
A casino marker is essentially a credit instrument that allows a patron to gamble with money advanced by the casino.
Third-party marker payments occur when somebody other than the patron who received the credit repays the debt.
Banks’ records allegedly identified 28 such payments tied to three patrons between January 2023 and August 2024.
Together, they totaled $2.06 million.
The complaint also claims that another patron paid roughly $99,000 in cash to cover hotel rooms and expenses for 11 other people.
By September 2024, Resorts World had filed more than 50 suspicious activity reports connected with members of the group, according to Banks.
Resorts World Barred 28 Casino Patrons Days After Report
Banks claims he repeatedly recommended increasingly severe restrictions, ranging from bans on third-party marker payments to full property exclusions.
Some restrictions were adopted.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Resorts World’s anti-money-laundering committee also minimized concerns and occasionally relaxed restrictions.
During one meeting, a casino executive allegedly characterized the patrons’ activity as “cultural,” according to the complaint.
Banks submitted a comprehensive report, including a timeline and supporting documents, to Chief Compliance Officer Jennifer Roberts and other compliance staff on Sept. 2, 2025.
Roberts ordered a priority internal review the following day.
On Sept. 11, Resorts World barred 28 patrons associated with the alleged credit-fraud component of the network and sent their unpaid accounts to Clark County prosecutors for collection.
Banks claims no performance concerns were raised during a meeting with Roberts the following day.
He was terminated on Sept. 29.
According to Banks, Resorts World’s human resources director told him the dismissal concerned the same patron network and that the decision had come from “the C-suite.”
Banks says he protested:
“I detected it, you’re killing the author.”
FATF Red Flags Closely Match Casino Allegations
The timing gives the case wider significance.
Five days before Banks filed his lawsuit, the Financial Action Task Force published a new list of gambling-related financial crime indicators.
Several bear a close resemblance to the activity described in Banks’ complaint.
FATF warned operators to examine customers whose wealth or funds could not be explained, people using third parties to purchase chips or place bets, and patrons with no apparent relationship who shared funds.
It also highlighted hedged wagering, betting on opposing outcomes, and transactions involving little genuine gambling.
Other red flags include withdrawals that are disproportionate to the amount gambled and deposits followed by withdrawals with minimal or no play.
FATF explicitly cautioned that a single indicator is not necessarily evidence of financial crime.
However, it said several indicators involving the same customer or transaction should prompt further examination.
Banks Claims His Report Was Altered
The lawsuit also alleges that the report shown to Nevada regulators was different from the document Banks originally submitted.
Banks says Nevada Gaming Control Board agents showed him Resorts World’s version during a March 2026 interview.
He alleges it omitted references to an exception granted under the casino’s third-party payment policy, the executive’s “cultural” remark, and information about the development of that policy.
Resorts World has not admitted to altering the report.
Banks submitted complaints to the Department of Labor, FinCEN, and the Justice Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program.
His federal lawsuit accuses Resorts World of violating whistleblower protections under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and Nevada’s wrongful-termination law.
He is seeking reinstatement or front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, legal costs, and a jury trial.
Resorts World Denies ‘Frivolous’ Lawsuit
Resorts World said it strongly denies the allegations and characterizations contained in Banks’ complaint.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Banks has elected to file this frivolous action,” the casino said in a statement reported by Casino.org.
The operator said it would address the claims through the appropriate legal process.
The lawsuit follows Resorts World’s $10.5 million Nevada regulatory settlement in March 2025.
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Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
