Wynn Resorts said Friday it has reached a “non-prosecution agreement” with the U.S. Department of Justice and will forfeit $130 million to resolve a 10-year-old investigation into transactions at Wynn Las Vegas that were related to foreign customers facilitated by now former employees of the Strip resort.
The payment is not a fine but is the largest penalty a Nevada gaming company has paid to the Justice Department to settle an investigation. In 2013, Las Vegas Sands Corp. paid $47.4 million to the U.S. government to avoid criminal charges over alleged money laundering activities.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the casino operator said the payment comes from the funds involved in the transactions. According to the filing, the Justice Department agreed not to fine the company nor bring any criminal charges against Wynn Las Vegas regarding the charges stemming from an investigation that began in 2014.
Wynn, which also operates Encore on the Strip, three casinos in Macau and Encore Boston Harbor, promised to make certain enhancements to its compliance program as part of the settlement.
In a statement Friday, the company said the investigation covered various transactions at Wynn Las Vegas relating to certain patrons and former employees, agents and other third parties that were involved in unlicensed money-transmitting businesses.
“The actions of these individuals, for which Wynn has accepted responsibility, date back many years and violated Wynn’s compliance policies and procedures,” the company said. “We are pleased that [Wynn] has now resolved this long-standing legal matter.”
In the SEC filing, Wynn said the Justice Department took into account the historical nature of the transactions and the company’s cooperation with the multiyear investigation. The company noted that the “extensive remedial measures” took place before the non-prosecution agreement was reached.
Wynn also announced that it settled a class action lawsuit filed against the company by shareholders in February 2018, relating to its response concerning allegations that former Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn sexually harassed several female employees. The allegations were first reported in January 2018 by the Wall Street Journal.
Wynn, now 82 and living in Florida, has consistently denied the charges. He resigned his positions with the company and divested his stock and quit the corporate board. Last year, he cut ties to the industry he helped shape in Las Vegas, agreeing with Nevada gambling regulators to pay a $10 million fine, with no admission of wrongdoing.
“As a result of the settlement, all claims against the company and its current and
former directors and executives have been resolved,” Wynn Resorts said in a statement. “The matter was the last piece of litigation specifically related to the allegations against the former chairman and CEO.”
