A one-count indictment, handed up in the Southern District of California on Sept. 1, 
2009, and unsealed on Sept. 15, 2009, charges seven defendants each with one count of 
conspiracy to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to 
steal money and other property from Indian tribal casinos, and conspiracy to travel in 
interstate and foreign commerce in aid of racketeering.  Defendants charged in this 
indictment include Jason Cavin, Connie Marie Holmes, Brandon Pete Landry, Nedra Fay 
Landry, Geraldo Montaz, Jesus Rodriguez and Mike Waseleski.

According to the indictment, from approximately March 2002 through July 2006, the 
defendants and co-conspirators allegedly formed and participated in a conspiracy, 
defined in the indictment as the "Tran Organization," to cheat at gambling in casinos 
across the United States.  The indictment lists 10 casinos that were allegedly targeted 
by members of the conspiracy, including five casinos that are owned and operated by 
Indian tribes. 

An additional defendant, Jimmy Ha, was charged in a superseding indictment that was 
returned in the Southern District of California on Sept. 1, 2009, and unsealed on Sept. 
3, 2009, for an alleged conspiracy, defined in the indictment as the "Tran 
Organization," to cheat the Barona Valley Ranch Casino and Resort in Lakeside, Calif., 
in 2005.  James Root, who was previously indicted in connection with this case, was also 
charged in the superseding indictment.

If convicted on the conspiracy charge, defendants face a maximum five-year prison 
sentence.

According to both indictments, the defendants and others executed a "false shuffle" 
cheating scheme at casinos during blackjack and mini-baccarat games.  The indictments 
allege that members of the criminal organization bribed casino card dealers and 
supervisors to perform false shuffles during card games, thereby creating "slugs" of un-
shuffled cards.  After tracking the order of cards dealt in a card game, a member of the 
organization would signal to the card dealer to perform a "false shuffle," and then 
members of the group would bet on the known order of cards when the slug appeared on the 
table.  By doing so, members of the conspiracy won thousands of dollars during card 
games.

There were two previous indictments in connection with the Tran Organization’s alleged 
casino-cheating conspiracy.

Nineteen alleged members of the Tran Organization were charged in a three-count 
indictment returned in San Diego on May 22, 2007, and unsealed on May 24, 2007, 
including Phuong Quoc Truong, Van Thu Tran, Tai Khiem Tran, Anh Phuong Tran, Phat Ngoc 
Tran, Martin Lee Aronson, Liem Thanh Lam, George Michael Lee, Tien Duc Vu, Son Hong 
Johnson, Barry Wellford, Willy Tran, Han Truong Nguyen and Ha Thuy Giang. Each were 
charged with one count of conspiracy to participate in the affairs of a racketeering 
enterprise, defined in the indictment as the Tran Organization; one count of conspiracy 
to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal 
money and other property from Indian tribal casinos; and one count of conspiracy to 
commit money laundering. 

Eleven additional defendants were charged in a separate indictment for conspiring to 
commit offenses on behalf of the Tran Organization.  A one-count indictment, unsealed in 
the Southern District of California on Sept. 11, 2008, charged Bryan Arce, Don Man 
Duong, Hogan Ho, Thang Viet Huynh, Outtama Keovongsa, Leap Kong, Qua Le, Khunsela Prom, 
James Root, Darrell Saicocie, and Dan Thich each with one count of conspiracy to commit 
several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal money and 
other property from Indian tribal casinos, and conspiracy to travel in interstate and 
foreign commerce in aid of racketeering.

To date, 31 defendants have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the casino-cheating 
conspiracy including: Phuong Quoc Truong, Tai Khiem Tran, Anh Phuong Tran, Phat Ngoc 
Tran, Martin Lee Aronson, Liem Thanh Lam, George Michael Lee, Tien Duc Vu, Son Hong 
Johnson, Barry Wellford, John Tran, Willy Tran, Tuan Mong Le, Duc Cong Nguyen, Han 
Truong Nguyen, Roderick Vang Thor, Sisouvanh Mounlasy, Navin Nith, Renee Cuc Quang, Ui 
Suk Weller, Phally Ly, Khunsela Prom, Hop Nguyen, Hogan Ho, Darrell Saicocie, Bryan 
Arce, Qua Le, Outtama Keovongsa, Leap Kong, Thang Viet Huynh, and Don Man Duong. These 
defendants admitted to targeting, with the aid of co-conspirators, a combined total of 
approximately 26 casinos in the United States and Canada during the course of the 
conspiracy, including:

1) Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Miss.; 
2) Casino Rama, in Orillia, Ontario, Canada; 
3) Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn.; 
4) Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Miss.; 
5) Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City, La.; 
6) Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Tunica, Miss.; 
7) Isle of Capri Casino in Westlake, La.; 
8) Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Ind.; 
9) Mohegan Sun Resort Casino in Uncasville, Conn.; 
10) Palace Station Casino in Las Vegas; 
11) Resorts East Chicago Hotel and Casino in East Chicago, Ind.; 
12) Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, Calif. 
13) Cache Creek Indian Bingo and Casino in Brooks, Calif.; 
14) Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash.; 
15) Imperial Palace Casino in Biloxi, Miss.; 
16) Argosy Casino in Baton Rouge, La.; 
17) Trump 29 Casino in Coachella, Calif.; 
18) Isle of Capri Casino in Bossier City, La.; 
19) Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif.; 
20) Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, Calif.; 
21) Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.; 
22) L'Auberge du Lac Casino in Lake Charles, La.; 
23) Nooksack River Casino in Deming, Wash.; 
24) Barona Valley Ranch Casino and Resort in Lakeside, Calif.; 
25) Caesars Indiana Hotel and Casino in Elizabeth, Ind.; 
26) Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Two other defendants, Ha Thuy Giang and Tammie Huynh, pleaded guilty to tax offenses 
stemming from the investigation, and Khai Hong Tran admitted to the offenses alleged in 
the 2007 U.S. indictment when he pleaded guilty to casino cheating offenses in Canada.

The prosecution of the case is led by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and 
Racketeering Section.  Department of Justice Trial Attorneys Joseph K. Wheatley and 
Robert S. Tully are prosecuting the case in San Diego.  The case is being investigated 
by the FBI’s San Diego Field Office, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal 
Investigation, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and the California Department of 
Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control.  The investigation has received assistance from 
federal, state, tribal and foreign authorities, including: the Ontario, Canada, 
Provincial Police; the National Indian Gaming Commission; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 
the Western District of Washington; FBI Resident Agencies in Gulfport, Miss., Tacoma, 
and Toledo, Ohio; the Indiana State Police; the Rumsey Rancheria Tribal Gaming Agency; 
the Sycuan Gaming Commission; the Barona Gaming Commission; the Mississippi Gaming 
Commission and the Washington State Gambling Commission. 

An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is 
entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt 
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Anyone with information relating to the investigation may contact the FBI’s San Diego 
Field Office at                (858) 565-1255        .