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Kenosha fake slot machine ticket charges
They'd just won more than $2,000 on a slot machine. And when they came to cash in, they didn't smile or show any emotion. The bartender found that suspicious, and the story doesn't end there.
KENOSHA, Wis. - They'd just won more than $2,000 on a slot machine, and when they came to cash in, they didn't smile or show any emotion. The bartender found that suspicious, but the story doesn't end there.
Prosecutors charged Kelly Pfeiffer with two counts of forgery, attempted theft by false representation and obstructing an officer. She pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday. Police are still looking for Martin.
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What they're saying:
Chris Margetson said he was surprised two customers at Angry Bob's in Kenosha tried to make their own luck. And it happened more than once.
"In a way it sucks, because you can’t trust people anymore," he said.
According to prosecutors, a man and woman working together targeted the bar's gambling machines over the past month-and-a-half. They're accused of taking legitimate tickets and photocopying them, then using those to create fake tickets with big pay-outs.
Margetson audited his machine after a man identified as Kyle Martin won nearly $2,200 at Angry Bob's in late May. The machine didn't show a win that high, and Margetson said he could also tell the fake ticket felt different from the legitimate ones.
A Facebook post from J&M’s Bar and Grill in Kenosha said Martin also targeted their gambling machines and redeemed two fake tickets for almost $1,900.
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"They take three, four grand from a bar, that hurts them – especially during the summertime when it’s slow," said Margetson.
Weeks later, Margetson said he recognized a woman Martin had been with, identified in court documents as Kelly Pfeiffer when she returned to Angry Bob's.
"Then when they came in again, I was like ‘oh hell no.’ You’re going to try to do it twice?" he said.
Kelly Pfeiffer and a man identified as Kyle Martin
Dig deeper:
Prosecutors said Margetson called Pfeiffer to come back to Angry Bob's to claim the money she tried to collect with a fake ticket. When she returned, 10 Kenosha police squads surrounded here, and she was arrested.
And this isn’t the first time gambling machines have been targeted in southeast Wisconsin. Last April, FOX6 News reported on a group from North Carolina that used jammers on the machines to steal from bars in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties.
Court documents show both Pfeiffer and Martin came here from Missouri. Though Pfeiffer is in custody and charged, Margetson said the thefts will continue to hurt bars like his.
"It’s the way the world works nowadays, people find every which way to cheat I guess," he said.
The Source: Information in this story is from FOX6 News interviews, court filings and court records.