A Quincy woman is facing charges for alleged loansharking at Encore Boston Harbor Casino

A 50-year-old Quincy woman alleged to have been acting as an illegal “loan shark” on the floor of Encore Boston Harbor Casino is now facing charges.

Kimanh Le, 50, was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court Monday on four counts of criminal usury, having been accused by prosecutors of loaning out money at interest rates higher than the legal limit at the Encore casino and in Quincy and Dorchester. She was arrested back on April 10.

Le has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on her own recognizance with conditions — she must stay away from the casino and witnesses, remain in Massachusetts, and give up her passport, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office. Le is set to return to court on June 24.

Usury, also referred to as loansharking, involves loaning money to people at interest rates higher than the maximum legal amount, a press release said.

“Loan sharks operating inside of a casino provide usurious loans, targeting individuals who are problem gamblers, struggling financially or, for some reason, are unwilling to seek credit from legal sources,” the AG’s office said.

In this case, Le allegedly loaned gamblers cash or casino chips. She would charge them interest rates at 5 percent daily or 10 percent per week, well above the legal limit of 20 percent annually.

“On multiple occasions, investigators observed Kimanh Le take cash from a large bundle inside her purse and hand it directly to fellow patrons, who then immediately utilized the cash to buy in at one of the high-limit tables,” prosecutors said in court documents, according to The Boston Globe.

Authorities kept tabs on Le in multiple ways, including GPS surveillance, casino surveillance footage, through bank records, and in speaking to those she had interacted with, the Globe reported. One said they had become close with Le; the two met in the “high limits” area of the casino, and the unidentified person is referred to as a “cooperative source” (CS) in documents reviewed by the newspaper.

“Kimanh Le told the CS that she would give him/her a rate of 5 percent on any loan amount under $10,000 if he/she is able to repay the loan within 24 hours,” prosecutors said in the documents, according to the newspaper. “Otherwise, the going rate would be 10 percent per week.”

Since July, the person reportedly did nine transactions with Le for a total of $78,000.

“Kimanh Le acts as an underground financial institution, maintaining a loan clientele of active gamblers, largely comprised of individuals from the Asian American community,” court documents said, according to the Globe.

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