‘Vegas Dave’ Facing Arrest Warrant After Failing to Appear in Court

A Las Vegas judge issued a no-bail bench warrant on Thursday (Aug. 13) for David Oancea after the Las Vegas sports betting influencer failed to appear for a scheduled surrender hearing.

District Judge Joe Hardy had ordered Oancea, better known as “Vegas Dave,” to be taken into custody as part of contempt sanctions stemming from a civil case brought by Cabo Platinum, a luxury vacation‑rental company in Mexico.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Oancea’s attorneys appeared in court on Thursday before District Judge Anna Hardy, but the handicapper was absent.

Attorney Alex LeVeque told the court that Oancea had been informed of the contempt order but declined to comment on his client’s whereabouts or whether he was even aware of them.

The missed hearing marks the latest flashpoint in a dispute that began years ago. Oancea, who built an online following of over 9.3 million Instagram users and featured in Showtime’s 2019 sports-betting docuseries Action, was sued by vacation rental agency Cabo Platinum. The company accused him of sabotaging bookings for several luxury properties by blocking guest access and interfering with confirmed reservations.

In July 2025, District Judge Timothy Williams ordered Oancea to pay a $30.2 million judgment and prohibited him from further disrupting rentals. However, according to court filings cited by the Review-Journal, Oancea continued to violate those directives and failed to pay the judgment.

Two Weeks to Comply

In September 2025, Oancea was ordered to surrender a high-value collection of assets, including three Mexican properties, $375,000 in cryptocurrency, a Richard Mille watch, and several Hermès Birkin bags. Given two weeks to comply, Oancea failed to turn over the property, instead claiming the assets were no longer in his possession.

Following a six-day evidentiary hearing, District Judge Tara Clark Newberry found Oancea’s testimony to be “false,” “inconsistent,” and “evasive,” concluding that he had willfully refused to comply.

“This court finds that Mr. Oancea was not a credible witness,” Judge Newberry wrote in her order.

Newberry presented Oancea with two “purge” options: turn over the assets (or their cash equivalents) and sign a power-of-attorney granting Cabo Platinum principal Mishan Andre authority over his Mexican property interests, or surrender himself to custody and remain incarcerated until he complied.

Newberry also awarded Cabo Platinum nearly $294,000 in attorneys’ fees and $17,000 in costs, ruling that any claimed inability to comply was “self-created, strategic, and the result of voluntary acts to avoid compliance.”

Supreme Court Appeal Denied

As of this week, Cabo Platinum attorney Dan McNutt confirmed Oancea had satisfied none of the purge conditions. In an email filed with the court, LeVeque wrote: “I am not in possession of any of the items.”

Oancea was originally scheduled to surrender on Aug. 6, but Judge Hardy delayed the deadline by one week while the Nevada Supreme Court considered Oancea’s emergency petition to stay the contempt order. The state Supreme Court denied that request in a two-page ruling on Aug. 5, clearing the way for the bench warrant following his failure to appear.