PORTSMOUTH, Va. — An embezzlement case is moving forward in Portsmouth after thousands of dollars remain unaccounted for from Rivers Casino Portsmouth.
Marcus Baker and Joshoua Thompson each face felony embezzlement charges for allegedly embezzling cash from the casino. During a preliminary hearing Friday, prosecutors successfully argued to a judge that there is probable cause to move forward.
The charge reads:
wrongfully and fraudulently use, dispose of, conceal, or embezzle property, belonging to another and having a value of $1,000.00 or more, which the accused received for another, or which the accused received by virtue of the accused's office, trust, or employment, or which a court, corporation, company, or another person entrusted or delivered to the accused.
The case centers around the movements and actions of the two former employees captured on surveillance video. Surveillance video, which was played inside the courtroom Friday, shows Thompson moving cash boxes out of the casino’s count room, while holding a key needed to unlock those boxes.
A separate casino worker who also testified Friday later saw a man, eventually identified by video to be Baker, “stuffing bills” into a black object before leaving the building and going to his car.
Witness testimony from casino staff revealed one of the cash boxes handled during this incident is allegedly missing $13,670, which casino staff still can’t account for.
While prosecutors with the Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Office successfully moved the case forward, attorneys for the defendants raised questions over one testimony in particular.
In testimony from the Director of Finance for Rivers Casino Portsmouth, he acknowledged that while the missing amount from the incident in question cannot be accounted for, he did not know in the courtroom whether the total "count" for the casino that day was off.
Despite the objections and questions raised by attorneys Sonya Weaver Roots and Jarrett McCormack, the case now moves to a grand jury, where a trial date should be selected next month.
A felony embezzlement charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years if those who are charged are found guilty.