Business Insider
A Los Angeles grifter was sentenced to over 17 years in prison in November 2022 after he spent years traveling the country as a high-powered marijuana snake oil salesman who stole millions from investors.
David Bunevacz stole close to $35 million from investors and was convicted on counts of securities and wire fraud, federal prosecutors said in court documents. The one-time actor’s scheme, detailed in a criminal complaint and by The Los Angeles Times, involved securing investments by posing as a weed vape pen executive and quickly burning the cash on horses, casino runs, and rent at Kylie Jenner’s former Calabasas mansion, obfuscating the money’s trace.
He drove around in a rotating cast of Porsches and splurged investor money on $46,500 worth of Birkin handbags, and at least $920,000 in jewelry, prosecutors said.
The appearance of success was critical to his scheme, and through part of the pandemic, Bunevacz and his family rented out Kylie Jenner’s former Calabasas mansion for $18,000 a month. Bunevacz conned more than 100 people and lost at least $8 million worth of investor money at Las Vegas casinos, according to The Times, which chronicled the years-long series of scams and its effect on Bunevacz’s victims.
Prosecutors said in court documents that Bunevacz routinely befriended wealthy Los Angeles residents, even after he had been convicted on three counts of grand theft in the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2016.
Ultimately, Bunevacz enriched himself to portray the kind of lifestyle he hoped the Los Angeles elite would keep sustaining — until federal prosecutors found out he was blowing smoke.
Bunevacz did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.
Read more at
https://www.insider.com/la-grifter-35-million-horses-luxury-items-weed-pen-scam-2023-2
