[STEAM] Fortnite Tournament Cheat Forced to Pay $175K Banned From Game 'Forever'

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player who consistently cheated in competitive tournaments has been handed a huge fine and banned from the game "forever," developer Epic Games has said.

Sebastian Araujo from Lomita, California, was sued by Epic after participating in 839 cash tournaments within just four months, while using a device designed to evade Fortnite's anti-cheat detection.

According to Epic, which won its legal action against Araujo this week after he attempted to ignore the lawsuit, the player's winnings amounted to "at least $6,850." That's no small amount, but his fine now is 25 times higher: an enormous $175,521.

How has Epic landed on such a figure? Court documentation shared with IGN shows the developer demanded the statutory minimum $200 fine for each violation of the game's copyright for all 839 tournaments Araujo took part in — for a total of $167,800. The remainder of the fine is then mostly attorney fees and costs.

"While the Court notes the amount sought by Plaintiff exceedingly surpasses Defendant's alleged actual gain, $6,850, Defendant took significant measures to conceal the true scope of his cheating activities by creating multiple fake accounts and employing a hardware spoofer to circumvent detections," the court documentation reads.

Further examination shows Epic had pushed for an even higher fine — with an additional $100,000 penalty in statutory damages for copyright infringement — though it's here that the judge decided this amount would have been "excessive" versus Araujo's actual ill-gotten gains.

If it feels like Epic is making an example out of Araujo, then it wouldn't be the first time. Back in February 2025,

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by forcing them to post a public apology video acknowledging they had cheated, and were similarly now banned for life.

As with that case, the money Araujo must now pay will be donated by Epic to Child's Play, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing access to toys and games.

Both cases follow a

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, when Epic said it was "ramping up legal action against both players who cheat and cheat sellers," as it sought to bolster "competitive integrity in tournaments."

This latest public announcement, eye-watering fine and lifetime ban are all likely designed to act as deterrants for any other players with ideas of doing the same.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky

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