A sophisticated fraud group faked bank records to secure gambling credit from two Macau casinos, pocketing around HK$17 million in chips before authorities swooped in with arrests on Monday, uncovering a trail of missing funds and a fugitive on the run.
The Judiciary Police revealed the scheme involved submitting bogus personal financial documents, including a doctored electronic bank statement claiming a HK$48 million balance from a Hong Kong lender.
This convinced one casino's VIP room to approve HK$10 million in credit to a 67-year-old Hong Kong man, identified as the ringleader and a self-proclaimed contractor.
Group members then cashed out chips in small bets over multiple sessions, pocketing most of the winnings until the casino demanded repayment—leaving just HK$1.58 million returned and exposing the con.
The same tactic had earlier netted HK$9 million from another casino.
Officers nabbed the ringleader, surnamed Lee, along with two other Hong Kong residents—a 63-year-old woman surnamed Wong, who claimed to be a businesswoman, and a 63-year-old man surnamed Ho, also posing as a businessman—as well as a 36-year-old Macau man surnamed Wong, listed as a driver.
The crew, including at least one still at large, had kicked off operations earlier this month. Raids turned up suspected stolen cash, stacks of chips, and several mobile phones as evidence.
Investigators found the ringleader's actual bank account held only tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars, a far cry from the fabricated fortune.
The arrested suspects have refused to reveal the whereabouts of the bulk of the chips, believed to have been whisked away by the fugitive, and police are now hunting leads on both the escapee and the pilfered proceeds.
