A former decathlete who also competed with the Philippines national team was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for fraudulently raising more than $45 million from investors who were told their funds would be used to finance companies marketing cannabis vape pens.
On Monday, Nov. 21, David Joseph Bunevacz, 53, of Calabasas, California, was sentenced to 17 1/2 years by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also ordered him to pay $35,267,851 in restitution, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
At the sentencing hearing, Fischer noted that Bunevacz had “preyed on individuals who believed he was their friend” and that the “seriousness of [his] conduct cannot be captured in mere dollars and cents.”
Fischer also found that Bunevacz continued to perpetrate his scheme even while serving probation for a state court conviction, concluding, “Not even a criminal conviction and the threat of jail convinced [Bunevacz] to become a law-abiding citizen.”
Bunevacz pleaded guilty on July 18 to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in this case on April 5.
Going back to 2010, Bunevacz created various business entities, with names such as CB Holding Group Corp. and Caesarbrutus LLC, that he claimed were involved in the cannabis industry and the sale of vape pens containing cannabis products such as CBD oil and THC.
Bunevacz…
