Bunevacz pleads guilty in cannabis pen fraud in US

REMEMBER David Joseph Bunevacz? The former national athlete who was awarded the decathlon gold medal at the 1997 Jakarta Southeast Asian Games because the winner, an Indonesian, was disqualified because of doping is back in the news.

At least in Los Angeles, California, which he made as his base with Filipina wife, former celebrity Jessica Rodriguez, and his family.

An Associated Press report stated that Bunevacz pleaded guilty on Monday to bilking investors out of more than $28 million with a phony scheme to market cannabis vape pens, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Bunevacz, now 53, of Calabasas, agreed to plead guilty at a later date to securities and wire fraud. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in Los Angeles, the US attorney’s office said.

According to his plea agreement, as far back as 2010 Bunevacz created several businesses that he claimed were involved in the cannabis industry and the sale of vape pens, prosecutors said.

He raised tens of millions of dollars from at least 10 investors, prosecutors said.

But instead of financing business operations, Bunevacz used much of it to fund a lifestyle that included a fancy house, Las Vegas trips, jewelry, designer handbags, horses and a lavish birthday party for his daughter, the US attorney’s office said in a statement.

Bunevacz was a former University of California, Los Angeles, top decathlete and was recruited to compete for the Philippines in 1997 by then Philippine Sports Commission chairman Philip Ella Juico.

His arrival in the national team created some controversy as to his true Filipino roots but because of his celebrity-like looks, eventually blended in the community.

After retiring from competition, he turned celebrity and also had a co-hosting stint with a local sports television program. He rubbed elbows with stars in the Philippine movie industry for some time before moving back to the US.