By SARAH BURGE, The Press-Enterprise

An insurance broker and the former chief financial officer for the Pechanga Resort & Casino have been charged with bilking the tribe out of more than $4 million in an insurance scam, authorities said Thursday.

James William Riley, 46, of Murrieta, and Ryan Jay Robinson, 39, of Temecula, were arrested Tuesday, a Riverside County district attorney’s office news release said.

Riley is accused of overcharging the Pechanga Development Corp. for insurance in 2006 and 2007 and paying Robinson a $100,000 kickback to overlook it, the release said.

Riley, of the firm Riley, Garrison & Associates in Murrieta, served as the broker for the majority of the tribe’s insurance, the release said.

He and Robinson were indicted last month by a Riverside County grand jury on grand theft and commercial bribery charges, the release said. Riley is also charged with money-laundering.

An interim chief financial officer noticed unusual billing practices after Robinson moved from being the CFO for the resort and casino to that same position for the tribal government, said Ryan Hightower, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. Hightower said the tribe reported its suspicions to the district attorney’s office in March 2008.

Jacob Mejia, a tribe public affairs representative, said the apparent fraud came to light in 2007. He declined to release additional information about the tribe’s investigation or details about the duration of Robinson’s employment.

Riley is accused of taking advantage of the “precarious circumstances” in the insurance market following Hurricane Katrina, which hit in August 2005, by misrepresenting the amounts of insurance premiums, the release said. The money Riley gave to Robinson was apparently moved through multiple accounts, the release said.

Steve Harmon, the attorney representing Riley, said he received a copy of the indictment Thursday and did not have all the details of the case.

“This is a difficult moment for (Riley) and his family and friends … They’re all confident that when the facts are known it will be shown that he has done nothing wrong,” Harmon said. “He’s a good man, a family man. He has been very giving to the community.”

Robinson’s attorney was not immediately available for comment.

Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro said in a written statement: “The integrity of our tribe and operations is paramount to Pechanga, which is why we moved swiftly to conduct a thorough independent investigation and provide all of the evidence we gathered to law enforcement.”

Riley and Robinson are scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 18. Robinson was being held at the Southwest Detention Center, with bail set at $1.25 million; Riley’s bail is set at $1 million.

Reach Sarah Burge at 951-375-3736 or sburge@PE.com
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Posted on February 4th, 2010 by hunwut
Filed under: Gaming, Law and Order