{"id":50221,"date":"2022-07-01T17:22:33","date_gmt":"2022-07-02T00:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=50221"},"modified":"2022-07-01T17:22:33","modified_gmt":"2022-07-02T00:22:33","slug":"man-scammed-cannabis-investors-out-of-millions-of-dollars-is-facing-up-to-20-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=50221","title":{"rendered":"Man Scammed Cannabis Investors Out of Millions of Dollars is Facing Up to 20 Years in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"A former UCLA decathlete who also competed with the Philippines national team has agreed to plead guilty to two federal criminal charges for fraudulently raising more than $37 million from investors, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investors were told their funds would be used to finance companies marketing cannabis vape pens, the Justice Department announced Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 David Joseph Bunevacz, 53, of Calabasas, agreed to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, according to a plea agreement filed Friday in federal court,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Both crimes carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Operating through his cannabis companies, Bunevacz raised between approximately $37.1 million and $45 million from more than 10 victim investors. <\/span><\/p>\n

He admitted to causing losses of at least $28,409,112.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Instead of using the funds to finance business operations, the evidence indicates that Bunevacz misappropriated the vast majority of the funds to pay for his own opulent lifestyle, including a luxurious house in Calabasas, Las Vegas trips, jewelry, designer handbags, a lavish birthday party for his daughter, and horses, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bunevacz, who has been in federal custody since his arrest\u00a0 on April 5, is expected to plead guilty to the charges in the coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to his plea agreement, going back to 2010, Bunevacz created several business entities \u2013 including Holy Smokes Holdings LLC and Caesarbrutus LLC \u2013 that he claimed were involved in the cannabis industry and the sale of vape pens containing cannabis products such as CBD oil and THC.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"womanBunevacz falsely told at least one investor he had a longstanding relationship with a Chinese manufacturer of disposable vape pens and he obtained \u201craw pesticide-free oil\u201d that was sent to a \u201clab that infuses the flavors into the oil with our proprietary custom process that renders the vape flavoring smooth and discrete,\u201d according to court documents. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bunevacz also provided investors with forged documents \u2013 such as bank statements, invoices and purchase orders \u2013 to support his claims of the businesses\u2019 success and the need for investor funds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To create the false appearance that his companies were engaged in legitimate business activities, Bunevacz registered various shell companies, including several with names similar or identical to those of legitimate cannabis businesses. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"To conceal his control of these shell companies and the bank accounts associated with them, Bunevacz listed other individuals, including his stepdaughter, as the corporate officers of the shell companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bunevacz\u2019s blog touts his success as a former decathlete who competed for the Philippines, and his wife and daughter appeared in a reality television show. <\/span><\/p>\n

Despite Bunevacz\u2019s promotion of his background, Bunevacz took efforts to conceal negative information from investors, such as his 2017 felony conviction for the unlawful sale of securities, according to an affidavit submitted in support of the criminal complaint. <\/span><\/p>\n

After one investor uncovered a lawsuit against Bunevacz, Bunevacz emailed a counterfeit version of the settlement agreement to falsely make it appear that he had been paid $325,000 as part of a settlement. <\/span><\/p>\n

In reality, it was Bunevacz who had agreed to pay $325,000 to settle the claim.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0The FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Assistant United States Attorney Alexander B. Schwab of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES\u00a0 A former UCLA decathlete who also competed with the Philippines national team has agreed to plead guilty to two federal criminal charges for fraudulently raising more than $37 million from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nMan Scammed Cannabis Investors Out of Millions of Dollars is Facing Up to 20 Years in Prison<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES\u00a0 A former UCLA decathlete who also competed with the Philippines national team has agreed to plead guilty to two federal criminal\" \/>\n<meta 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