"Lawsuit Against Wynn Resorts, Linked to Ponzi Scheme Funds, to Proceed for Now"

Wynn Las Vegas faces another challenge in its attempt to dismiss a two-year-old lawsuit that accuses the company of accepting funds from a $45 million cannabis-vape Ponzi scheme. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a US district judge has decided to allow parts of the complaint against Wynn to move forward, while dismissing allegations of negligence and unjust enrichment. Judge Anne Traum ruled that plaintiffs can still pursue claims that Wynn provided VIP treatment to David Bunevacz, which allegedly helped legitimize his illegal operation. The lawsuit was originally filed in October 2024. The complaint states that Bunevacz was permitted to gamble approximately $3.8 million at Wynn Las Vegas without undergoing the required source of funds checks. Canadian businessman Stephen Shefsky and his company, James Bay Resources Ltd, are among those asserting these claims. Bunevacz is currently serving a 17.5-year sentence in federal prison for fraud. Prosecutors demonstrated that he used investor funds, intended for the cannabis-vape venture, to finance his personal lifestyle, which included spending $8 million on gambling at Las Vegas casinos. The plaintiffs also allege that Wynn Las Vegas offered Shefsky a complimentary room in November 2018, facilitating a meeting with Bunevacz to solicit more investment. After this meeting, James Bay, Shefsky's company, lent $1.5 million to Bunevacz’s venture, with Shefsky personally extending another $1.1 million in two loans. The plaintiffs later invested an additional $3 million in Bunevacz's companies.

The funds were transferred to a Wells Fargo account allegedly used by Bunevacz to pay expenses at Wynn Las Vegas. Currently, only the segment of the complaint related to the receipt-of-stolen-property statute in Nevada still stands. This statute allows victims of property crime to sue any third party who has received or possesses their stolen property, as long as the situation suggests the party could have reasonably known the property was stolen. Although a portion of the case is allowed to proceed, Judge Traum emphasized that this decision does not imply any guilt, noting that Wynn may have been completely unaware of these issues.