Canadian businessman Stephen Shefsky has submitted a subpoena request in the U.S. District Court of Nevada in an attempt to obtain information from officials at the Wynn Las Vegas about the gambling activities of a convicted fraudster who may have lost $3.5 million of Shefsky’s money at the Stip casino.
Shefsky, president and CEO of James Bay Resources in Toronto, gave the money to David Bunevacz as an investment for a cannabis venture—Bunevacz had convinced Shefsky and nearly 100 others to give him money for a fictitious company marketing vape pens in states where the products are legal.
He then used the investors’ money (over $35 million in total) to live a lavish lifestyle, and was known to frequent Las Vegas.
According to court documents, he once traveled there with Shefsky for a cannabis conference and stayed at the Wynn, which is part of the reason why the latter believes the money was likely lost there.
Bunevacz, who was once a high-level track and field athlete for the Philippine national team and UCLA, was sentenced to over 17 years in prison on one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud in California federal court last November.
At the time of sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer also ordered Bunevacz to pay back the lost $35.3 million in restitution.
Wynn Resorts, parent company of Wynn Las Vegas, has not commented on the matter, but if Shefsky’s request is successful, the company could face punishment for failing to report large gambling losses to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an anti-money laundering (AML) agency.
