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Former casino worker, mother sentenced

A former employee of Wind Creek Casino and her mother, both of whom entered a guilty plea in federal court to charges they conspired to embezzle more than half a million dollars from the casino through the transference of “free play” credits, have been sentenced.

Documents signed by Senior Judge Callie V.S. Granade of Alabama’s Southern District Court ordered that Jasmine Hansell, 26, who reportedly masterminded the scheme, serve a year and a day in prison, while 50-year-old Gunilla Marshall got off with probation. The women, each of whom lists Atmore as her city of residence, will also split $510,100 restitution and each was levied a $100 special assessment.

According to court documents, Hansell was a game attendant for the gambling house and had access to the casino’s internal computer system, which was used to manage and track player accounts.

A compliance audit revealed that Hansell, without the tribe’s authorization, accessed more than $500,000 in “free play” credits belonging to the tribe and transferred those credits to her mother’s player account. Video surveillance and computer reports indicate that the two used and benefited from the free play credits at the casino.

In March 2017, after an FBI investigation, the defendants were charged with one count of conspiring to embezzle and steal from an Indian tribal organization.

They each later entered a guilty plea to the white collar crime.

Along with the prison time and restitution, Hansell will serve an additional three years on supervised probation after she is released. During that period she will be required to undergo regular testing for alcohol or drug use and to receive treatment for alcohol and drug dependency.

Marshall will serve the next five years under special-conditions probation in addition to the restitution and special assessment.

Both women will be prohibited from possessing a firearm, ammo or any dangerous weapon while on probation, and both are banned from making “any major purchases, incurring new credit card charges or opening new lines of credit without the permission of her probation officer until all financial obligations imposed by the court are met.”

The court did have a degree of mercy on the women, ruling that neither one had the ability to pay interest on the stolen money, so the judge waived any interest charges.