A Schuylkill County man is accused of fraudulently withdrawing more than $6,500 from an incarcerated person’s bank account to pay for online gambling.
According to State Police, Randy Williams Jr., 39, of Pottsville, accessed the victim’s Santander bank account without consent between Feb. 2, 2022, and April 8, 2022, while the victim was housed at Schuylkill County Prison. The victim reported the unauthorized activity to police after he was released from jail on April 27, 2022.
Police say the first fraudulent transaction posted on Feb. 14, 2022, for $50 through Wind Creek Play, an online casino. The unauthorized charges then continued across several other online gambling platforms, including Borgata Play, BetMGM Play, and PlayPlusGo.com. In total, transactions added up to $6,553.
During the investigation, police spoke on Jan. 8, 2025, with a representative from Sightline Payments, a digital payment provider for the gaming industry. The representative told police that Williams maintained accounts through their service and that any bank statement charges labeled “Playplusgo” were processed by Sightline.
The representative compared the victim’s bank statements with Williams’s player activity and identified matching transactions, police say, noting that posting dates on the statements could vary by one to three days due to standard bank clearing periods.
Williams is facing felony counts of access device fraud, identity theft, theft, and receiving stolen property. He has not yet been arraigned on these charges.
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