An employee for the Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower, Minn., pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $315,000 from the Indian Tribal Organization through a phony cash-refund scheme.

Jennifer Lynn Boutto, 32, worked as a front desk clerk at the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa-owned casino, a position that allowed her to give cash refunds to customers with little oversight. In 2013, Boutto started identifying high-roller patrons and issuing phony cash refunds against their invoices after they checked out, according to the plea agreement, filed in Minnesota U.S. District Court. Then she took the money from the casino vault and pocketed it.

Over seven years, Boutto enacted the scheme almost 3,000 times, stealing $315,740, according to court records.

The plea agreement recommends up to two years in prison and $75,000 in restitution. She will be sentenced later this year.

Andy Mannix • 612-673-4036