Live Online Blackjack Dealer Made $47,000 from Cheating Scam

A Connecticut live online Blackjack dealer who works for Evolution, the parent company of DraftKings and FanDuel, has been arrested on suspicion of cheating his employers out of $47,000 by tampering with and memorising decks, then betting on the outcome.

23-year-old Sebastian Echeverri was charged with first-degree larceny and cheating after turning himself in to local police, having heard there was a warrant out for his arrest.

Echeverri stands accused of using three Draftkings accounts to place “abnormally high” bets on Blackjack hands he was dealing, involving at least 26 separate hands.

Video evidence and other documents show that he was also “manipulating Blackjack hands to facilitate advantageous online bets on multiple DraftKings accounts that he was operating,” according to State police.

An investigation was launched after suspicious activity was noted on one of Echeverri's DraftKings accounts between July and December last year and reported to the Department of Consumer Protection.

The Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force started investigating the alleged “cheating scam” after the company noticed that the account was accessed from “the same device used by Echevarri to log into Evolution’s employee portals and view information such as his work schedule or time sheets.”

According to police, Echeverri admitted to having control of the three Draftking accounts, as well as manipulating the decks and placing bets based on this unfair knowledge.

Echeverri is facing larceny and cheating charges and was released on a $50,000 bond.