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A 30-year-old man accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his employer — the Desert Diamond Casino — has been indicted, an official said Friday.

Adam Thomas Vega was indicted on 15 counts of theft by an officer or employee of a gaming establishment on Indian lands and three counts of attempted evasion of assessment and payment of federal individual income taxes.

The theft charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both. The evasion charge carries up to five years in prison, a $100,000 fine or both.

According to the indictment, while Vega was a slot floor person at the casino from October 2005 to July 2007, he created nearly 600 fake jackpot tickets, cashing in for a total of $664,422.

Each of the tickets was for less than $1,200 to avoid generating a federal tax withholding form, the indictment stated.

Vega did not report any of the money as required by law and is believed to have evaded paying more than $200,000 in taxes for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

"The gaming tribes rely on the integrity of their casino operations to put money back into their local communities," said U.S. Attorney Diane Humetewa in a news release.

"This alleged theft hurts the integrity of the system. Hopefully this indictment will send a message that such individuals will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law possible," she said.

Vega's actions did not affect any casino guest, according to a news release from the Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise.

The casino has since implemented changes to its procedures to ensure that this type of criminal activity does not happen again, the release said.

All employees of the gaming operation are screened before hiring; Vega had no prior incidents to warrant concern, according to the release.

Vega has been summoned to appear in court on Sept. 18 at 11 a.m.