Former Resorts World Las Vegas compliance director sues over alleged whistleblower firing
The complaint says the casino later barred 28 patrons and referred about $12m to $13m in unpaid casino credit for collection.
US.- A former compliance director at Resorts World Las Vegas has filed a federal complaint claiming that the casino fired him for reporting suspicious activity by a group of foreign patrons. Preston Banks sued in US District Court on 14 September 2026, claiming whistleblower retaliation under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and wrongful termination under Nevada law. He seeks reinstatement or front pay, double back pay with interest, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.
Banks joined the property in September 2022 after working as a regulatory specialist at the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for almost 16 years,. Banks was dismissed on September 29 2025. According to the complaint, he was told the termination was because of an alleged illegal gambling scheme that he himself claims to have detected.
The lawsuit claims that in late 2022 he identified a group of patrons, predominantly from Argentina, whose “sources of funds could not be verified because the businesses listed on their casino credit applications did not exist or could not be located.”
Banks says that in 2023 he recommended supervisors and the anti-money laundering committee prohibit third-party marker payments by three people, a restriction that was adopted. By 2024, the group had grown to between 60 and 150 people from Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Italy and Spain, court documents say.
The lawsuit said Resorts World records described the group’s activity as including unverified source of funds, credit fraud, repeated third-party marker payments, coordinated or “coached” wagering, chip passing, chip walking, bankrolling, minimal gaming, offsetting bets and bill-stuffing. By September 11 2024, more than 50 suspicious activity reports required under the Bank Secrecy Act had been filed concerning those patrons, according to the complaint.
However, Banks alleges that supervisors and the AML committee “repeatedly minimised concerns, delayed review, and took incomplete or inadequate action.” The lawsuit said that at a meeting in 2025, Al Meranto, executive vice president of casino operations, characterised the activity as “cultural.”
On September 2 2025, Banks submitted a report on the alleged activity to chief compliance officer Jennifer Roberts and other compliance staff, the complaint states. Nine days later, Resorts World banned 28 customers “associated with the credit-fraud component of the group” and referred their accounts to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office for collection of about $12m to $13m in unpaid casino credit, Bank says. Yet Banks was dismissed the same month. He claims Bob Napierala, human resources director, said the decision came from “the C-suite” and was related to the illegal gambling scheme.
The complaint also alleges that a version of Banks’s report later shown to a Nevada Gaming Control Board agent in March 2026 omitted material details, including the “cultural” remark and information about an exception to a third-party payment policy he opposed.
Banks filed a whistleblower-retaliation complaint with the US Department of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on 5 December 2025. He also filed complaints with FinCEN and the Justice Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program. OSHA has not issued a ruling.
A Resorts World spokesperson said: “It is unfortunate that Mr. Banks has elected to file this frivolous action relating to the termination of his employment. Resorts World strongly denies the allegations and characterisations in the lawsuit. We look forward to addressing these claims in the appropriate forum and have no further comment.”
In March 2025, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a $10.5m settlement with Resorts World Las Vegas over a separate Nevada Gaming Control Board complaint involving alleged unsuitable methods of operation tied to illegal bookmaking.
