LOS ANGELES—A former University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) decathlete has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges for raising more than $37 million from investors falsely told their funds would be used to finance companies marketing cannabis vape pens, federal prosecutors announced July 1.
David Bunevacz, 53 of Calabasas,who competed with the Philippines national team, agreed to plead guilty to one count each of securities fraud and wire fraud, according to his plea agreement filed Friday in Los Angeles federal court.
Bunevacz, who had been taken into federal custody since April 5, is expected to formally enter his plea in the coming weeks. The crimes each carry a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison.
Bunevacz solicited investments in various businesses—CB Holding Group Corp. and CaesarBrutus LLC, among others—that he claimed were involved in the sale of vape pens containing cannabis products such as CBD oil and THC, according to the criminal complaint.
The defendant falsely told at least one investor he had a long-standing relationship with a Chinese manufacturer of disposable vape pens and he obtained “raw pesticide-free oil” that was sent to a “lab that infuses the flavors into the oil with our proprietary custom process that renders the vape flavoring smooth and discrete,” the complaint states.
Prosecutors alleged that Bunevacz also provided investors with forged documents, including bank statements, invoices, and purchase orders, to…
