Brandon Sattler, Vegas High Roller, Serial Fraudster, Gets 51 Months

Posted on: December 5, 2024, 07:25h. 

Last updated on: December 6, 2024, 10:32h.

Philip Conneller Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

High-rolling Las Vegas gambler Brandon Sattler has been sentenced to 51 months in prison after pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud.

Brandon Sattler, Scott Sibela, Resorts World, MGM Grand, Dave Stroj, RJ Cipriani
Resorts World Las Vegas, above, whose former president, Scott Sibella, denied knowing Brandon Sattler to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The latter claims they go way back. (Image: Resorts World Las Vegas)

The 47-year-old Sattler admitted fraudulently obtaining more than $10 million from three individuals, including James Russell, Grant Whitcher, and Julie Russell. Sattler claimed he needed the money to fulfill renovation contracts he had with several Las Vegas casinos, according to court documents.

In reality, the only bona fide contracts Sattler had with casinos were the type that involved him risking money at their gaming tables with the expectation that he would receive a payout if he won.

In an April 2022 deposition, Sattler testified that he won and lost millions at casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and elsewhere.

Scott Sibella Links

In that same deposition, Sattler accused former MGM Grand and Resorts World Las Vegas president Scott Sibella of inappropriate behavior that potentially jeopardized his gaming license and of lying to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).

Sattler claimed Resorts World allowed a convicted felon, Dave Stroj, to operate the Tacos El Cabron restaurant on the property in a violation of Nevada law.

Sibella testified to the board that he didn’t know Sattler. But according to Sattler’s sworn disposition, the two went way back. Sattler claimed he “partied and did drugs” with Sibella, and they “probably had sex with multiple women at the same time.”

Sibella was later fired by Resorts World over an unspecified violation of his employment contract. In May 2024, Sibella was sentenced to a year’s probation for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. That was for allowing illegal bookie Wayne Nix to gamble at the MGM Grand despite Sibella knowing his profession.

The then-MGM Grand president admitted he didn’t want to ask about the source of the funds because he knew he would have to stop Nix from gambling.

Prior Convictions

Sattler is already a convicted felon. In 2004, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of aiding and abetting bank fraud in Texas. That same year, he was convicted of grand theft and forgery in California. In 2006, he faced fraud charges in Los Angeles County.

In the latest case, prosecutors accuse him of altering information from his bank to make it appear that his account held more money than it did. This was to influence lenders into loaning money to his phony casino security firm, SattCom Video.

Instead of the punishments for prior offenses deterring the defendant from committing further crimes, it appears it has only led the defendant to engage in more sophisticated fraudulent schemes,” said Assistant US Attorney Daniel Schiess in a statement.

Sattler’s lawyer, Shawn Perez, had asked for leniency, stating his client “has a demon – an addiction to gambling.”

“It’s an addiction that, unfortunately, has consumed his life for a number of years,” said Perez. “Though not an excuse for his crimes, it is a factor that need be considered – and in fact, a factor that Mr. Sattler wishes the Court to consider in imposing a sentence that is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of this case.”