LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Resorts World is now being sued by a former compliance director who alleges that he was fired after he discovered suspicious, and possibly illegal, activities tied to international gamblers.
Preston Banks was hired by Resorts World in September 2022 to work as Compliance Director and International Compliance Director.
According to the lawsuit, in late 2022, he identified a pattern of suspicious activity involving a group of patrons that were 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."
In 2023, Banks recommended to supervisors and the anti-money laundering committee that Resorts World prohibit third-party marker payments by three people, which were adopted.
By 2024, the lawsuit alleges the number of people involved in that scheme grew to between 60 to 150 people, which were from Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Italy, and Spain.
"Defendant Resorts World's own records describe the group's suspicious activities as including unverified source of funds, credit fraud, repeated third-party market payments, coordinated or 'coached' wagering, chip passing, chip walking, bankrolling, minimal gaming, offsetting bets, and bill-stuffing," the lawsuit reads in part.
Read the full lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, by Sept. 11, 2024, more than 50 suspicious activity reports, which are required by the Bank Secrecy Act, had been filed concerning those patrons.
At an AML Committee meeting six days later, the lawsuit alleges the father of one of the patrons in question had previously been implicated in an unlicensed money-transmitting matter involving the Wynn casino.
The lawsuit alleges that despite Banks trying to sound the alarm, "Banks' supervisors and the AML Committee repeatedly minimized concerns, delayed review, and took incomplete or inadequate action under Resorts World's AML Policy and related controls."
During a meeting in 2025, Executive Vice President of Casino Operations Al Meranto allegedly "sought to minimize the seriousness of the suspicious activities by characterizing the patrons' suspicious activities as 'cultural'."
On Sept. 2, 2025, Banks filed a comprehensive report about the scheme and nine days later, Resorts World banned 28 people "associated with the credit-fraud component of the group, and referred their accounts to the Clark County District Attorney's Office for collection of approximately $12 to $13 million in unpaid casino credit."
On Sept. 29, 2025, Banks was called into a meeting with his direct supervisor and human resources, who allegedly told him he was terminated because of the illegal gambling scheme.
"Banks responded that he had detected the scheme and protested that RWLV was terminating the person who had identified it, stating, 'I detected it, you're killing the author.' HR Director [Bob] Napierala responded that the decision to terminate Plaintiff Banks came from 'the C-suite' and that no one else on the Compliance team had been terminated."
On December 5, 2025, Banks filed a whistleblower-retaliation complaint against Resorts World with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The lawsuit states the agency has not rendered a ruling in the matter.
Banks also filed whistleblower complaints with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Justice Department's Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program.
According to the lawsuit, Banks met with a Nevada Gaming Control Board agent in March to talk about how Resorts World handled the matter and enforcement of its anti-money laundering policy. When Banks was shown a copy of the report that he had given to Resorts World, the lawsuit alleges that Banks pointed out the report had been altered and omitted relevant facts in the original version.
Channel 13 reached out to Resorts World and a spokesperson provided the following statement.
"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 characterizations in the lawsuit. We look forward to addressing these claims in the appropriate forum and have no further comment."
According to the federal court docket, no hearings have been scheduled in this case, as of Tuesday afternoon.