Press Release  Encore Casino Dealer And Player Convicted In Baccarat Cheating Scheme

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced today that a Middlesex County jury found Encore Boston Harbor Casino baccarat dealer Jianming Li of Delaware and baccarat player Jun Na Zhang of New York guilty on two counts each of cheating and swindling more than $1,000 and one count each of larceny over $1,200 by single scheme. 

According to the indictments, the cheating scheme occurred on two different dates, one in late October and one in early November 2019, in the high limit section of the Encore Boston Harbor Casino. The scheme involved Li fanning and exposing cards to himself, memorizing the sequence of cards, and then communicating that sequence to Zhang. Zhang’s illegal winnings on the two nights were approximately $15,000.  

At sentencing, the Court imposed a 364-day committed house of correction sentence, suspended for two years for Li and a 364-day committed housing of correction split sentence (six months to serve in the house of correction), suspended for two years for Zhang. 

The investigation was conducted by the Massachusetts State Police’s Gaming Enforcement Unit at Encore Boston Harbor Casino, with assistance from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the AGO’s Gaming Enforcement Division, and the Massachusetts State Police. The Encore Boston Harbor Casino was also cooperative in the investigation.  

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Brian Pearly and Joseph Posner, both of the AGO’s Gaming Enforcement Division. The Gaming Enforcement Division is charged with enforcing the Expanded Gaming Act of 2011 and investigates and prosecutes illegal activity such as gaming-related financial crime, organized crime, corruption, and money laundering.

###