Report: Former gambling manager stole from Legion Post

The former gambling manager at American Legion Post 77 in Owatonna has been charged with felony theft after authorities say he stole more than $80,000 from the organization.

Dakkota Cruz Moreno, 31, who provided a Minneapolis address, is scheduled to make his first appearance Dec. 7 in Steele County District Court.

The investigation began in May, when Owatonna police were contacted about a potential theft from the Legion’s charitable gambling account; it was also reported to the Minnesota Gambling Board.

According to the criminal complaint, Moreno was hired as the gambling manager in 2021; he and the organization parted ways in July 2025, presumably because Moreno had another job that was taking more of his time.

He helped the new gambling manager in the transition of roles; unbeknownst to Legion leadership, Moreno was reportedly still filling out all the paperwork and submitted documents to the Gambling Control Board.

During his time with the organization, the gambling account required four authorized signers, including Moreno. The alleged fraudulent charges came from the debit card attached to the account.

The alleged theft wasn’t discovered for nearly a year – when the new gambling manager noted “numerous personal transfers from the account” and multiple Amazon charges, including one from Tire Rack for about $3,300 in April 2026.

It stood out, the manager said, because Moreno had visited the Post in Owatonna a couple of weeks earlier and “showed him brand new rims and tires on his personal truck.”

Investigators from the Gambling Control Board and the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division became involved, and were provided with the organization’s laptop, with consent for a forensic examination of it.

Court documents say Moreno had used the Post’s banking account information and its debit card for his personal PayPal account in January 2026, and purchases began the day he added the debit card.

On May 18, 2026, Moreno’s access to the funds in the banking account and debit card were cut off, following the discovery.

That day, he called the affiliated bank to see why the card wasn’t working; he left a message, but the bank didn’t return his call. The next day, Moreno added his own card to the PayPal account.

The special agent reportedly found nearly $26,000 in unlawful transactions with PayPal from January to May, with purchases of those tires and rims; personal payments; tactical clothing and a lower parts kit for an AR-15.

Investigators also discovered Moreno had added the organization’s bank account to his personal Venmo account, the document continued; that accounted for nearly $7,500.

A warrant for Moreno’s personal credit union account indicated multiple transfers from the Post’s bank account to the personal account.

The complaint says Moreno sent himself $27,000 via transfers from May 2025 through March 2026, not including paychecks.

Another warrant allegedly showed Moreno made payments on his American Express card from the organization’s bank account, as well as 26 transactions on Amazon.

When the special agent spoke to Moreno in August, he first said he believed his “debit card got hacked or something,” and should have brought it up to the Post, but didn’t because he “was already on thin ice with them for having submitted payments to the Department of Revenue late.”

The agent asked Moreno directly if he had made personal purchases on the organization’s debit card, to which he allegedly replied, “If I did, I would’ve paid back the account right away.”

The investigator then brought up the details uncovered by the search warrants on the various accounts; Moreno repeatedly said he meant to pay back the organization “once I have the funds,” the complaint says.

“I do believe that there were a few that were potentially hacked,” Moreno allegedly said, “but the majority of those were just me being dumb and irresponsible and I do mean to reimburse the organization.”

Court documents say Moreno didn’t realize the amount was “that high,” that he believed it was about half that.

Based on the investigation, authorities claim Moreno made $82,252.51 worth of unlawful expenditures from about Feb. 1, 2025 to May 18, 2026.