A former executive at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the Mohegan Tribe's racetrack casino in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was sentenced last week in federal court to 32 months in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering.

Robert Pellegrini, 51, the casino's former vice president for player development, had pleaded guilty to the charge in December, according to a release from the U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

An indictment previously returned in the case alleged that Pellegrini and a former cocktail waitress at the casino had conspired with a third person to defraud the casino through a scheme involving the use of stolen names and personal identification numbers, or PINs, tied to players' loyalty club cards. It was alleged that Pellegrini used the stolen information to create duplicate cards that he then loaded with "free play" credits. He allegedly provided the cards to the third person involved in the scheme, who used them to gamble, primarily at poker slot machines.

The scheme began in May 2014 and continued to April 2015, netting the defendants more than $422,000 in winnings.

Pellegrini's co-defendants, who also pleaded guilty, have yet to be sentenced. In addition to the prison term, Pellegrini was ordered to pay restitution of $420,147.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com