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In January 2023, members of the statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force received a criminal referral from the Department of Consumer Protection of a cheating scam involving a dealer at live casino operator, Evolution, located in the town of Fairfield, said the Connecticut State Police.
Evolution is a gaming company that hosts online casino dealer games within the DraftKings and FanDuel platforms. Platform users have the ability to play casino games virtually, but with the experience of a live dealer, through live video feeds.
An investigation found that employee Sebastian Echeverri, age 23, of Norwalk, would use his access to card decks to either memorize a series of cards or even manipulate a series of cards to then place favorable bets on the outcome, using three separate DraftKing accounts, state police said.
In total, Evolution representatives estimated that Echeverri exploited his role as a shuffler during at least 26 different games, defrauding the platform out of at least $47,000, state police said.
On Monday, March 20, Echeverri voluntarily met with investigators and admitted to using his position to tamper with cards and place advantageous wagers on blackjack games. He also admitted that he controlled the three DraftKings accounts allegedly used to place bets on the blackjack hands, investigators said.
On Wednesday, March 29, Echeverri turned himself in at Troop G in Bridgeport after learning of an active warrant for his arrest.
He was charged with larceny and cheating and later released after posting a $50,000 bond.
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