17 years for SoCal vape scammer

David Joseph Bunevacz, 53, of Calabasas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also ordered him to pay $35,267,851 in restitution. At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge 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.”

Bunevacz, pleaded guilty on July 18 to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, and has been in custody since April.

Bunevacz claimed that he had a longstanding 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,”.

Bunevacz also provided investors with forged documents – such as bank statements, invoices and purchase orders – to support his claims of the businesses’ success and the need for investor funds.

Full release available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/calabasas-man-sentenced-17-years-prison-scamming-cannabis-vaping-business-investors-out