Casino Check Scam Lands Newark Man In Hot Water With NJ’s Attorney General

Maybe Terry Dilligard thought the checks were so nice he could cash them twice, but New Jersey’s top law enforcement official doesn’t see it that way.

State Attorney General Jeff Chiesa says Dilligard, a 35-year-old Newark resident, has been indicted on charges he stole $165,600 from Harrah’s Resort and Casino in Atlantic City by allegedly making copies of checks that were issued to him by the casino and fraudulently collecting payment on the copies as well as the original checks.

Dilligard is accused of printing duplicates of nine checks totaling $165,600 that he received from Harrah’s when he redeemed casino chips. He collected $165,600 on the original checks in March, but is alleged that he then stole $165,600 by fraudulently depositing copies of the nine checks into his bank accounts in September.

In a separate case, Dilligard, his former girlfriend, his father, his mother, his sister and 26 other people were named on March 1 in multiple indictments charging them with filing false unemployment insurance claims which resulted in the theft of more than $2 million in unemployment benefits from the State of New Jersey. 

“The charges in our two indictments against Dilligard reveal an inveterate con artist who specializes in big-ticket fraud,” says Chiesa. “We have exposed his alleged scams, and we will aggressively prosecute him.”