A 23-year-old Norwalk, Connecticut resident surrendered to police earlier this week after his alleged participation in an elaborate gambling scam. The man, identified as Sebastian Echeverri, allegedly win nearly $50,000 by cheating in a virtual casino operation and using multiple online accounts that belonged to him, a report released by Patch reveals.
The 23-year-old man was charged with cheating, as well as first-degree larceny. After surrendering to police authorities Wednesday, he was released on a $50,000 bond. Echeverri is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court next month, on April 20, 2023.
The young man reportedly was able to defraud the online casino out of at least $47,000 through an elaborate scam. Working as a shuffler for a live casino, he allegedly rigged the cards or memorized them, before engaging in betting activities via multiple DraftKings accounts that belonged to him.
At least one of the three uncovered accounts that allegedly belonged to Echeverri was noticed for “suspicious gaming activity” between July 2022 and December 2022. It is believed that the young man used unfair advantage for at least 26 separate gaming sessions.
Manipulating Cards for Advantageous Bets
The charges against Echeverri and the uncovered scam come after an investigation was launched into the illicit activity. The scam itself, state police claim, was uncovered by Evolution, the famous gaming company that provides online live casino games hosting for operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings. This online segment of iGaming content has been continuously gaining popularity and many operators have engaged with such offering that delivers immersive gambling entertainment via live action.
“Investigators reviewed video footage from Evolution relative to the games suspected to have been manipulated by Echeverri. The videos appeared to depict Echeverri actively examining the sequence of the cards on which he would subsequently place bets,“
explains a statement released by state police
The scam was reportedly uncovered by Evolution during its usual monitoring processes. At the company, Echeverri was a shuffler, a job that involved the preparation, including the shuffling of cards before a dealer uses them for a live stream. According to police authorities, the accounts belonging to the young man “demonstrated a pattern of placing abnormally high bets after Echeverri had handled the cards.”
Given his role, he had access to cards that are used in live streams, allowing him to memorize the flow of cards. In some cases, Echeverri allegedly even tampered with the sequence of cards, allowing him to know how the game would play out. This granted him the option to take advantage of games and bets through his online accounts.