Fraud suspected in Texas man’s $56K spree at Las Vegas Strip resort
A Texas man is accused by police of going on a $56,886 spending spree at a Las Vegas Strip resort using a suspended credit card and what appears to be a forged authorization letter.
Law enforcement records show Williamson Little, 36, of Dallas, was arrested Saturday by Las Vegas police. Clark County Detention Center records state he was booked on suspicion of theft, obtaining credit card without cardholder’s consent and burglary of a business first offense.
A Las Vegas police arrest report for Little states he checked into Wynn Las Vegas on June 29.
“Little presented an unknown bank chipped credit card for pre-authorization for the room and incidentals, and inserted the card into the point of sale terminal,” a police report states. “Due to the restrictions in place during the COVID-19 outbreak, and out of an abundance of caution for hotel personnel, the front desk workers at the Wynn Hotel, who would normally physically handle the card and swipe it, have a hands off policy in place to help mitigate the spread of the virus. Thusly, the desk clerk was unable to physically inspect or see the card.”
Room upgraded
Days later, police said, Little upgraded from a “standard room to a villa suite, which costs approximately $1,950 a night to rent,” police said.
The front desk attempted to run his credit card for pre-authorization and it was declined, police said. Little then produced a corporate credit card to satisfy the pre-authorization. On July 15, police said Little purchased a Rolex watch at the property for $13,546.88 “and had the amount charged to his villa.”
This caught the attention of a corporate investigator for the-hotel-casino. The property contacted Little, letting him know he had exceeded the pre-authorization amount on his credit card. Little then purportedly contacted the credit card company asking for a letter showing he was authorized to charge an additional $55,000. The report states such a letter was later provided to the front desk.
Wynn investigators, meanwhile, checked Little’s background and found he had stayed at the hotel previously.
“Little had troubles in the past with not paying his bill at time of check out, noting he eventually found a way to pay them what was owed after he had left the property,” police wrote.
Letter appears to be forgery
Las Vegas police called the credit card company regarding the letter authorizing credit line increases for Little. Police said in the report “it appears the letter is a forgery.” The credit card was created on June 23 in a woman’s name and suspended July 13 “due to the suspicion of application fraud.”
Police said in the arrest report they conducted a background investigation of Little and “discovered he had multiple priors for fraudulent related activities in the past, including a felony conviction out of Oklahoma in 2010.”
Wynn employees then demanded payment from Little. When he could not pay in cash, he was arrested.
No criminal complaint has been filed as of Thursday morning. Little is scheduled to be in Las Vegas Justice Court on Sept. 17 for a status check on the case and a decision on whether prosecutors will pursue charges.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
