Detroit – A Chicago man has been convicted in the theft of $700,000 from a Michigan casino, a brazen scheme in which an employee was tricked over the phone into stuffing the cash into a designer bag and driving 85 miles (137 kilometers) to deliver it.

“This case underscores the need for businesses, organizations and citizens to be diligent and cautious about phone and internet scams,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said.

The crime occurred in 2023 at the Four Winds Casino in Hartford in southwestern Michigan, which is operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. The FBI said a key employee who handles cash received a phone call and text messages directing her to immediately gather $700,000 for a tribal official.

No one stopped the employee as she filled a Michael Kors bag with bundles of cash, walked out of the casino and drove away.

She stayed on the phone with the caller who eventually told her to go to a gas station in Gary, Indiana. That’s when she passed the cash to Jesus Gaytan-Garcia, one of two men in a minivan who met her, investigators said.

“She was cooperative with investigators and told them about the call, the text messages and the money transfer at the gas station,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Lane said in a court filing.

Gaytan-Garcia wasn’t arrested until March 2024, seven months later, after investigators were able to link him to the vehicle used to pick up the cash.

He was convicted of two charges Thursday in federal court in Kalamazoo.

Investigators said they recovered $18,000 from a safe in Gaytan-Garcia’s Chicago home. The money was wrapped and marked with the date of the casino theft.

“He lived in that house with his family and other families, and there’s movement between the floors,” defense attorney Parker Douglas said Friday. “The money was accessible to other people there. My argument was there just wasn’t any hard evidence that said this man did this at this time. The jury disagreed.”

Searches at Gaytan-Garcia’s trailers in Indiana revealed evidence of money transfers, antique coins, Civil War currency and foreign currency, Lane said.

This story has been updated to include new information.

An Arctic surge expected to make temperatures as low as 20 below zero early next week still likely won’t come close to producing the coldest temperatures in Michigan history.

On Feb. 9, 1934, Vanderbilt, in Otsego County, recorded the all-time coldest temperature in Michigan — minus 51 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

As a polar air mass known as a Siberian Express spreads southward across the U.S. and Michigan, temperatures Sunday through Tuesday area expected to fall into the single digits and even below zero in many areas.

Parts of the Upper Peninsula, including Ironwood, could see temperatures as low at minus 20, the National Weather Service said. In the Lower Peninsula, temperatures will be below zero at times, but won’t approach 20 below.

Even though records may not be broken, the Michigan State Police said people should take precautions.

“With temperatures dropping below zero and dangerously cold wind chills on the way, it’s important to take extra steps to keep yourself and your loved ones safe,” said Capt. Kevin Sweeney, deputy state director of Emergency Management and commander of MSP/EMHSD. “Dress in layers, limit time outdoors, and check on your neighbors who might need extra help. Staying informed and prepared can make all the difference during extreme weather like this.”

Many Michigan cities and villages have gotten downright frigid during past winters. Here’s what we know.

Where in Michigan does it get coldest in the winter?

While Michigan hasn’t seen 20 below zero in a while, it’s not uncommon. Here’s a look at some records for January, according to the National Weather Service.

Lansing

• 1981: Minus 29
• 1984, 1976: Minus 25

Detroit

• 1976: Minus 25
• 1994: Minus 22

Saginaw

Grand Rapids

Marquette

• 1977: Minus 32
• 1963: Minus 30

Ironwood

• 1977: Minus 40
• 1972: Minus 39
• 1912: Minus 37

Houghton and Hancock

Bergland

• 1912: Minus 45
• 1915: Minus 40

Sault Ste. Marie

Gaylord

• 1984: Minus 31
• 1981: Minus 30

What is the coldest month in Michigan?

January is the coldest month in Michigan. Statewide, the average high is 31 degrees and the low 18.

Where in Michigan gets the most snow?

The highest recorded snowfall in a 24-hour period took place in Herman, southeast of L’Anse in the UP, which received 32 inches of snow on Dec. 2, 1985.

The Keweenaw is known for its prodigious snow totals.

The Keweenaw Snow Gauge, alongside U.S. 41 between Mohawk and Phoenix, is an iconic destination for travelers visiting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Visit Keweenaw notes.

The Keweenaw’s record snowfall was set during the winter of 1978-79 when the Keweenaw received 390.4 inches of snow between November and April.

So far, more than 153 inches of snow has fallen in the area this year.

Contact Sarah Moore @smoorelsj.com

How does an undefeated Big Ten team lose to a winless one? It fails to do what the things it has done well all season.

The one thing that has defined Michigan throughout the season is its ability to create shots in the paint and score at the rim. The Wolverines led the country in 2-point shooting at well over 60%, and their twin-tower lineup of 7-footers produces shots at the rim in volume.

Those shots didn’t go in on Thursday night in Minneapolis, and Michigan left with a shock overtime defeat to the Big Ten’s worst team.

Michigan made just 12 of 31 shots around the rim. Their 43% 2-point shooting was the worst of the season, and it was Minnesota’s best 2-point defensive performance against a high-major team. The increasingly automatic Vlad Goldin shot just 4-of-13 inside the arc and missed all five field goal attempts in the second half. He missed as many shots inside the arc on Thursday night as he had in Michigan’s recent five-game winning streak total.

It was one of those nights in a sport famous for those nights. And after a worst-of-the-year-by-far shooting performance at the rim and a poor defensive effort, it still took a Dawson Garcia buzzer-beater from near midcourt to settle the final score in overtime.