A flashy sports betting influencer — known for his Birkin bag collections and mansions — was slapped with an arrest warrant from a Las Vegas judge Thursday after he no-showed a civil court proceeding, according to court records.
District Judge Joe Hardy ordered David Oancea, known as “Vegas Dave,” to be arrested on a no-bail bench warrant for noncompliance with a contempt order.
The big baller influencer with more than 9 million Instagram followers had a contempt order issued against him in July, stemming from a civil case brought by Mexican vacation rental company Cabo Platinum.
His attorneys appeared in court on Thursday without him but had no answer for his whereabouts. One of his lawyers, Alex LeVeque, said Oancea was aware of the contempt order. LeVeque added that he was not sure when Oancea would be available for a court proceeding regarding his troubles with Cabo Platinum.
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The company sued him in 2024, alleging he disrupted bookings for several luxury properties by blocking guest access and interfering with confirmed reservations. District Judge Timothy Williams ruled in favor of Cabo Platinum in July of last year, ordering him to pay a huge $30.2 million judgment and banning him from disrupting any future rentals.
He failed to pay the judgment, according to court records, and a judge targeted specific assets owned by the influencer. Oancea was ordered to surrender three Mexican properties, $375,000 in cryptocurrency, a Richard Mille watch, and several Hermès Birkin bags.
Oancea ignored the order and failed to comply within two weeks, leading to a six-day evidentiary hearing. He claimed he no longer owned the luxury goods or the properties.
After the hearing, District Judge Tara Newberry declared his testimony to be untrue, “inconsistent,” and “evasive.”
“This court finds that Mr. Oancea was not a credible witness,” she wrote in her order.
She then presented “Vegas Dave” with two options: either turn over the assets and properties, or be jailed until he did so. Newberry then additionally awarded Cabo Platinum nearly $294,000 in attorneys’ fees and $17,000 in costs and said Oancea’s inability to comply was “self-created, strategic, and the result of voluntary acts to avoid compliance.”
An attorney with Cabo Platinum said Oancea had not taken either option presented to him. Oancea attorney LeVeque said he was not in possession of any of the required assets.
“Vegas Dave” had been scheduled to surrender himself on Aug. 6, but a judge delayed the date to accommodate an emergency stay petition to the Nevada Supreme Court from Oancea’s legal team.
A notice of appeal was filed in the case on Friday, according to the latest court filing.
“Vegas Dave” found fame in 2020 with his braggadocious sports gambling videos touting his expertise and insider information on lesser-known “sports” like curling, checkers, Russian badminton, UNO and hula hoop contests.
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“Let’s f–king go. Forget about March Madness, forget about the NBA, forget about baseball being delayed for a couple of weeks. I’ve got the curling whale play of the day,” Oancea said. “I’ve been studying curling all f–king day. Also the $99 badminton package, $99 cricket package.”
The California Post reached out to “Vegas Dave” for comment.
