Ausaf Umar Siddiqui (born 1966) also known as Omar Siddiqui, is a Pakistani-American former corporate executive who was a vice president of

Fry's Electronics Fry's Electronics was an American big-box store chain. It was headquartered in San Jose, California, in Silicon Valley. Fry's retailed software, consumer electronics, household appliances, cosmetics, tools, toys, accessories, magazines, technic ...

. He is known to have gambled over $162 million in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

from 2005 to 2008 after

embezzling Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

money from his employer through money-laundering and wire fraud. He pled guilty and declared bankruptcy in 2011 after remaining listed as $137 million in debt.

Business background

Siddiqui was hired by Fry's Electronics in 1988. Omar was eventually promoted to

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of merchandising and operations. He received an annual salary of $225,000. Siddiqui negotiated with suppliers to pay higher prices in exchange for kickbacks which amounted to as much as 31%. He set up a shell company PC International, which hid the $65.6 million in kickbacks.

Gambling

Siddiqui reportedly wire transferred $70.4 million to

The Venetian Las Vegas The Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Apollo Global Management. It was developed by businessman Sheldon Adelso ...

between 2005 and 2008. He was known by casino employees as a "blackjack machine", according to one casino industry veteran "you couldn’t deal fast enough". Siddiqui gambled so fast he would "red line the house limit". Siddiqui was also known as a lavish spender who enjoyed fast cars, bottles of

Dom Perignon Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Rose and bowls of Glitterati Mentissimo peppermints. According to IRS Agent Andres Gonzalez, Siddiqui spent $162 million at

MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand ...

and

Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was founded by Sheldon Adelson, Sheldon G. Adelson and his partners out of the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las ...

casinos. Suspicion began in 2005, when an employee saw "confidential spreadsheets, letters and extraordinarily high commission amounts on Siddiqui’s desk". Siddiqui had claimed he was a co-owner of the company. One company, Phoebe Micro of Fremont, claimed it was the victim of Siddiqui. General manager, Peter Liu said Siddiqui asked to pay a "high marketing fee so Fry’s would prominently display Phoebe’s products". Siddiqui is considered among the largest losers in casino gambling history. He was sentenced to six years in prison for his crimes after he pled guilty to "one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering" in a plea deal where the government agreed to drop seven other felonies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqui, Ausaf Umar 1966 births Living people Muhajir people Pakistani businesspeople Pakistani gamblers Pakistani emigrants to the United States