LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A former UCLA decathlete who also competed with the Philippines national team was arrested today on a federal charge alleging he raised more than $37 million from investors who were falsely told their funds would be used to finance companies marketing cannabis vape pens.
David Bunevacz, 53, of Calabasas, was charged with a single federal wire fraud count, and is expected to make his initial appearance Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars.
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 an affidavit filed with the complaint.
Prosecutors allege Bunevacz 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,” according to the complaint.
Bunevacz also provided investors with forged documents, including bank statements, invoices and purchase orders, to support his claims of the businesses’ success and the need for investor funds, the complaint alleges.
Instead of using the funds to finance…
