A coin, jewelry, and precious metals dealer from Bay City, Michigan, finds himself at the center of a major fraud investigation. Matthew Joseph Burton, 52, has been charged with multiple felony counts of false pretenses due to allegations that he swindled his customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and used the funds to support his gambling habit.
Operating under the business names Flying Eagle Coins in Bay City and Jack of All Trades in Mt. Pleasant, Burton allegedly accepted large sums of money from customers for the purchase of precious metals but failed to deliver the goods. Prosecutors claim that Burton used these ill-gotten gains to gamble extensively at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, primarily on slot machines.
The investigation into Burton’s activities began in January 2023 when Michigan state police received a report that Burton had taken $127,000 from a customer in exchange for precious metals and then left the state for over a year without fulfilling his end of the deal. Around the same time, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office was alerted by a 72-year-old man who had paid Burton $20,000 for gold and silver. The man received only $9,665 in gold and silver and was promised the remaining balance in silver, which never materialized despite numerous attempts to contact Burton.
“There is always an excuse,” the man told police, according to court filings. “He was saying they were closed because he had COVID or something … On Facebook, Matt is posting pictures in a suite at the Lions game, so he’s living large on my dime.”
Investigators soon discovered that Burton was a frequent visitor to the Soaring Eagle Casino, and a check of his Player’s Club reward card revealed the extent of his gambling. Records showed that he had funneled $5,188,046.04 into slot machines, cashing out $4,235,304.96 for a net loss of almost $1 million. On the same day Burton received $20,000 from the 72-year-old victim, he spent $33,000 on slot machines. Police reports indicate that he visited the casino every day but two in October 2023, with daily slot expenditures ranging from $5,000 to $100,000.
Authorities concluded that Burton was using the money from the pawn shop gold sales to fund his gambling habit. Several other customers have come forward, claiming they are owed amounts ranging from $1,400 to $60,000 by Burton, who allegedly gave them checks that bounced.
Burton is scheduled to appear for preliminary hearings in Isabella and Bay counties’ district courts on November 8 and November 22, respectively. The most serious charge he faces—false pretenses of $100,000 or more—carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.