An enterprising man out of Massachusetts concocted a scheme that would allow him to earn free slot machine play at a Rhode Island casino, but the entrepreneur’s endeavors were not exactly legitimate. Joseph Clement has been busted for running a scam that allowed him, and several others, to use fake mailers to be able to gamble on slots at the Tiverton Casino Hotel and is now looking at spending the next several years behind bars contemplating his next big venture.
The 49-year-old Clement, who already has a long and steady relationship with law enforcement departments, has been accused of offering counterfeit slot mailers to at least 25 individuals. He started his new business after receiving a legitimate mailer for $25 in free slot action at the Plainridge Park Casino in Massachusetts and used that coupon to generate his own, fake coupons that offered larger dollar amounts with altered dates.
His luck ran out at the Tiverton last year, but not before he was able to successfully use two of the fake mailers at a value of $500 each. However, in December, he attempted to present a coupon for $600, which may have tipped off the casino – its limit on the mailers is $500.
An investigation into his activities was launched by police and led to others being found to have presented the coupons. One Tiverton member, for example, used a $500 mailer and then proceeded to allow Clement to use her Players Club card, possibly as a form of payment.
Additional surveillance footage showed Clement visiting a Staples office supply store. There, according to a store manager, he made a number of copies and apparently came in with a list of names and addresses of potential clients. That Staples is only about a mile from the Tiverton.
Clement was ten arrested in December and is being charged with 15 crimes. Among them are forgery, forgery with intent to defraud, conspiracy, solicitation of participation in conspiracy, use of a fake gaming instrument in a casino and conspiring to cheat a gaming venue. He is out on bond after pleading not guilty, but will return to court June 6.
