A serial casino scammer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of tricking casino staff into giving him more than $10,000 in unwarranted payouts.
Shaun Benward, 38, of Mississippi was charged with fleecing employees at the Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood during a December 2018 visit. Agents and casino staff alleged that Benward, who reportedly has described himself as a magician and illusionist, used a variety of techniques to mislead the workers, including multiple outfit changes and using different tellers to remain undetected.
Benward was charged in Lyon County with money laundering, cheating at gambling and conspiracy, although he was not returned to Iowa to stand trial until he was arrested in Mississippi in April 2025. He was convicted of 13 separate felonies at trial in November.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Judge Carl Petersen sentenced Benward to serve simultaneous prison sentences on all convictions, for a total of 10 years. He will receive credit for nearly a year already spent in custody, and has no minimum to serve before he will be eligible for parole.
His defense attorney declined to comment.
Benward has been arrested in connection with similar alleged scams throughout the country. Over the past decade alone, he has been convicted in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Rhode Island and Nevada for offenses involving cheating, money laundering and fraud.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Serial scammer, ‘magician’ gets 10 years for Lyon County casino fraud
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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