Margaritaville Casino Robbers Suffer Life-Threatening Injuries in Crash

Posted on: April 13, 2022, 11:08h. 

Last updated on: April 13, 2022, 11:50h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Four alleged bandits robbed a man last week at Louisiana’s Margaritaville Resort Casino. A short time later, they were seriously injured in a crash. At least two of the suspects were on life support at a local hospital.

Margaritaville Casino Hotel
Louisiana’s Margaritaville Resort Casino, pictured above. It was the site of a parking lot robbery last week. Later, the four suspects were injured in an accident. (Image: Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau)

It was revealed this week that all four suffered life-threatening injuries, according to KTBS, a Louisiana TV station. Details on their current conditions were not immediately available as of today. They remain at Ochsner LSU Health hospital.

The incident began on April 7, when two men and two women followed a casino visitor to his car in the Bossier City, La. gaming property parking lot, KTBS said. A handgun was pulled out by one of the two men.

The victim turned over between $50 and $75. The victim was described as elderly, KTAL, another local TV station, said. He was not injured.

Suspects Crash After Robbery

Quickly after the holdup, the four suspects entered a white Chevy Tahoe SUV. It had a black hood and a temporary Louisiana license plate.

The same SUV later got in an accident in Ruston, La. The SUV apparently pulled off the road while going under an overpass, the TV news report said. The Tahoe was then driven back onto the street. That is when a tractor-trailer collided with the SUV from behind, police said. It was being driven at full speed, police add.

Two of the suspects were on life support in recent days, the report added. Bossier City police did not release the suspects’ names.

Student Loan Money Used to Gamble

In another incident, a Louisiana man was found guilty last month of a casino-related crime. Elliott Sterling, 33, of Baton Rouge, La., allegedly gained more than 250 student loans, in part to fund an excessive casino gambling habit.

Sterling used sham paperwork to enroll individuals in classes at Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC), The Advocate, a Louisiana newspaper, reported. He allegedly illegally obtained $1.4 million federal financial aid on their behalf.

Through his company, Sterling Educational Consulting, LLC, the defendant told some of the students that he could help them get the financial aid that they would not need to repay, the report added. He “blew” $256,000 of the money at casinos in Louisiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, according to court documents.

Last month, he was convicted of 15 counts of wire fraud, financial aid fraud, and money laundering. The jury unanimously found him guilty on all 15 counts.