A mining company in Canada is suing Wynn Resorts after a man it lent millions to gambled away much of it without allegedly being subject to extensive checks by the casino. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Big money

A mining company is suing Wynn Resorts after a man used money from the firm to gamble at one of its casinos. James Bay Resources Ltd claims that former Philippines decathlete David Bunevacz gambled away about $3.8m at the Wynn Las Vegas, with some of the money belonging to the Canadian Stock Exchange-listed company.

The company’s president, Stephen Shefsky, loaned $1.1m to Bunevacz

He was on probation at the time after receiving a prison sentence for selling securities without the necessary qualifications. The company’s president, Stephen Shefsky, loaned $1.1m to Bunevacz, while the mining firm gave a total of $3.5m to two companies under the control of the 56-year-old and his daughter.

Various allegations

The lawsuit against Wynn, filed in the Ontario Court of Justice in April, claims the casino company was negligent and benefited from unjust enrichment.

allegedly failed to do a background check to uncover Bunevacz’s criminal history

It allegedly failed to do a background check to uncover Bunevacz’s criminal history and the various civil lawsuits and tax liens against him. The plaintiff argues this would raise doubts about the legitimacy of the money he was gambling with.

The complaint also questions why Wynn didn’t stop Bunevacz from gambling when he was exhibiting clear signs of gambling addiction.

A shady history

It eventually came to light that the former decathlete raised more than $39m for a fraudulent vape pen business from 40 investors, ultimately gambling away about $8m of that total. He received a 17-and-a-half-year prison sentence in 2022 for his crimes.

Bunevacz won a silver medal at the Southeast Asian Games in 1997 while representing the Philippines, which was eventually elevated to a gold medal after a failed doping test from the winner.

That wasn’t the first time the grifter ripped off investors. He sold 17,000 Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 tickets to a company for more than $10m without delivering the allocation. They settled the case following a three-year legal battle.