Dave Oancea, known as Vegas Dave, was once charged with 19 felony counts for allegedly using a fake identity to hide his income from law enforcement.

What happened next? Here's all that we know.

Who Is Vegas Dave?

Dave is a gambler and a gambling influencer. He is a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur and the #1 sports betting consultant.  

Born on December 10, 1976, he grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. He moved to Nevada to enroll at the University of Las Vegas. However, he took a big step in gambling and placed his $10,000 student loan on a roulette game in Vegas. 

The gamble he took at the casino paid off — Oancea doubled his money. He then dropped out of college the next day and started his betting career with $20,000 in his bank account.

Dave eventually became known as "The King of Futures" for his success in long-term sports bets with high payouts. Some of his accomplishments and highest payouts are listed below:

1. Payout of $208,000 against a bet of $8,000 on the Ravens during the 2012 Super Bowl.

2. Payout of $340,000 against a bet of $30,000 on Boston Red Sox during the 2013 All-Star Break.

3. Payout of $580,000 against a bet of $80,000 on Texas Rangers during the 2015 All-Star Break.

4. Payout of $2.5 million against a bet of $100,000 on Kansas City Royals winning the World Series in 2015.

5. Payout of $240,000 against a bet of $20,000 on Holly Holm against Ronda Rousey at UFC in 2015.

6. Payout of $2.3 million while betting on the Denver Broncos to lift the Super Bowl.

7. Payout of $300,000 against the biggest UFC wager ever on Miesha Tate to win against Holly Holm.

8. Payout of $2 million for a bet on Atlanta Falcons for the 2016 NFC.

On September 2020, Dave sold a rare Mike trout baseball card for $3.93 million in an auction by Goldin Auctions. He had purchased the card for $400,000 in 2018.

Indictments Against Him

Dave was first indicted in April 2017. He was charged with 19 federal counts, alleging he used multiple social security numbers to hide his winnings from the Internal Revenue Service between February 2015 and February 2016.

Law enforcement authorities claimed that the sports gambler used different social security numbers to open player accounts at different casinos.  

The authorities claimed Dave used false social security identities nine different times at Wynn Las Vegas and West Gare SuperBook to conduct transactions of $3.5 million in total. 

They also declared that the use of false social security information allowed the gambler to hide around $881,600 in winnings from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Court Hearing: Sentencing and Ban

The final hearing and sentencing for Dave's case took place in May 2019. The 19 felony counts against him had the potential to land him in federal prison for 40+ years. 

But Dave's lawyers carved out a plea deal with the court, based on which Dave pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in January 2019.

He admitted to violating rules of record-keeping and procedures and agreed to more than $550,000 in related civil forfeiture. He also accepted a plea deal in the Las Vegas court.

In the final hearing, US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey decided on much lighter punishments. She ordered Dave to serve three years of probation, along with gambling counseling, and 150 hours of community service.

In addition, the ruling also banned him from sportsbooks in Nevada for three years.

Previously in 2016, many popular sportsbooks, including Westgate, MGM, and William Hill, had banned him from betting. Additionally, Cantor Gaming limited his bets to $20 thousand only.

What is Vegas Dave Doing Now?

As per Dave's official website Vegasdavemoney, he has retired from being "one of the elite sports handicappers of this era." Dave is now a sport betting consultant leading his company, "Vegas Dave Consulting LLC." 

Dave provides membership packages to clients "all over the world."

He is also into bitcoins and has used his Instagram platform to share his advice on cryptocurrency.