Photo of the exterior of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Home of the Minnesota Vikings.

Image Credit: Tony Webster (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Daniel Escamilla, a San Francisco resident, has been charged with providing fraudulent checks to the Minnesota Vikings for a luxury suite rental at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged the 39-year-old Escamilla last week with three counts of theft by swindle and one count of theft by false representation. His first offense occurred on September 5, 2018 when Escamilla contacted the Minnesota Vikings about renting a suite for a Minnesota Vikings - San Francisco 49ers game on September 9, 2018. Not only did Escamilla write a $37,000 fraudulent check for that home game but he wrote an additional fraudulent check totaling $190,000 for the Minnesota Vikings - Buffalo Bills game. At the moment, the Minnesota Vikings are at a loss of $70,000 in their dealings with Escamilla. 

Daniel Escamilla is still on the run, has a warrant out for his arrest, and has a history of criminal behavior. In 2004, he was charged in Washington state with forgery, writing fraudulent checks, and being in possession of stolen property. Just before the Vikings - 49ers game at U.S. Bank Stadium in September, he also threw a party at the luxurious Nic on 5th apartment homes in downtown Minneapolis. However, he never paid a security deposit or rent for the apartment and was subsequently evicted a month later.

 

This isn't the first time the luxury suites at U.S. Bank Stadium have been portrayed negatively in the headlines. An audit revealed that members of the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority and other public officials were providing free suite tickets to their family and friends for Minnesota Vikings home games. That story broke back in 2016 when U.S. Bank Stadium first opened. That story, of course, came after local taxpayers shelled out nearly $500M in public dollars to construct U.S. Bank Stadium. The two suites controlled by the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority were supposed to be used exclusively for marketing purposes. Each of the two suites had a capacity of 18 guests and provided complimentary food and drinks.

U.S. Bank Stadium is fresh off of hosting the 2019 Men's Basketball Final Four and Super Bowl LII in 2018. 

 

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