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David Bunevacz

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David Bunevacz
Personal information
National team Philippines
Born (1968-12-20) December 20, 1968 (age 56)
Home townTorrance, California, U.S
Educationattended St. Mary’s School in Lancaster, CA and high school at Paraclete in Quartz Hill, CA
Occupation(s)Businessman and former athlete
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventDecathlon
Medal record
Men's track and field
Representing the  Philippines
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1997 Jakarta Decathlon

David Bunevacz (born December 20, 1968) is an American businessman, former decathlete and convicted felon.

Early life

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Bunevacz is the son of Joseph Bunevacz, of Hungarian descent and Filomena Ismaela, of Filipino ancestry who hails from La Union.[1]

He grew up in Torrance, California. As a track and field teacher/instructor/coach, his father was instrumental in providing Bunevacz with the training and focus needed to compete in the grueling multi-platform decathlon.

Athletic career

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From 1983 to 1987, Bunevacz attended Paraclete High School in Lancaster, California. He participated in track and field events and began training for the decathlon. He still holds the school's records for high hurdles, high jump and long jump.[citation needed] David also won the Arco Jesse Owens National Track and Field Championship in the high jump.[2]

In 1988, Bunevacz enrolled at University of California at Los Angeles. During his college years, he competed for the Bruins track and field team, eventually becoming team captain. He set the university record for the javelin throw.[3][4] By the age of 21, he had a personal record of 7,316 points for the decathlon.[5] In 1991, Bunevacz won the Pacific-10 Conference.[6]

After graduation, Bunevacz was recruited by then-chairman Philip Juico of the Philippine Sports Commission to represent the Philippines in numerous international sporting events including the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. His strongest events were the throws, in particular the javelin throw. In a class at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, he tossed a javelin from a standing start that was just a few meters short of the prevailing Philippine record.[7]

At the 1997 SEA Games, he finished as silver medalist in decathlon.[8] This was elevated to gold, after the original winners failed a drug test.[1]

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Attorney James Robert Moriarty and The X-Law Group sued Bunevacz and his father Joseph Bunevacz in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of ticket reseller Gene Hammett and Action Seating Inc. for a sum in excess of 10 million dollars. Hammett claimed in his pleadings that David Bunevacz sold him 17,000 tickets to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics that never materialized. Hammett alleged that the Bunevacz's led him to believe that the tickets were coming from several National Olympics Committees and their official ticket agents in Europe.[9][10][11] After three years of litigation a confidential settlement was reached.[12]

On August 23, 2016, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed a nine-count Felony Complaint against Bunevacz alleging in Counts 1 through 3 felony violations of Penal Code section 487(a) [Grand Theft], alleging in Counts 4 through 6 felony violations of Corporations Code section 25110-25540(a) [Unlawful Sale of Securities], and alleging in Counts 7 through 9 felony violations of Corporations Code section 25401-25540(b) [Fraudulent and Prohibited Securities Practices].[citation needed]

On March 22, 2017, Bunevacz entered a "No Contest" plea to Counts 5 and 6 of the Felony Complaint, and was therefore convicted on those counts. He was sentenced to 3 years Formal Probation, 360 days in the Los Angeles County Jail, and 300 hours of Community Service.[13]

On April 5, 2022, Bunevacz was taken into custody pursuant to a complaint filed on March 30, 2022, that charges him with one count of wire fraud. Bunevacz allegedly provided investors with forged documents for various businesses – “CB Holding Group Corp.” and “CaesarBrutus LLC,” among others – which he claimed were involved in the sale of vape pens containing cannabis products such as CBD oil and THC. The documents included bank statements, invoices and purchase orders – to support his claims of the businesses’ success and the need for investor funds.[14] Bunevacz pleaded guilty on July 18, 2022 to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. Both crimes carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.[15][16] Bunevacz was sentenced on November 21, 2022 to 17 years and six months in federal prison.[17]

Personal life

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"He married Filipino actress, model and author Jessica Rodriguez in October 2000. They currently reside in Los Angeles with their three children named Hayca, Grant, and Breanna Bunevacz.".[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b Godinez, Bong (1 August 2022). "David Bunevacz: Once Olympic dreamer now chased by law". PEP.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Young Track And Field Stars To Compete Saturday In Arco Jesse Owens Games Regional Championships - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. 1994-06-02. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  3. ^ "UCLA Bruins Records and Results" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Pepperdine's Ace Throws Off CSUN Batters - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1992-05-07. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  5. ^ "SEA GAMES PHILIPPINE MEDALLISTS SINCE 1991" (PDF). 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-26.
  6. ^ CART, JULIE (1991-05-29). "TRACK AND FIELD / NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : It's a Game of Seconds for UCLA Women". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  7. ^ Cart, Julie (1992-04-10). "They're Separate but Unequal : Track and field: UCLA and USC men have different strengths. Women's teams are more alike. - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  8. ^ Ching, Mark Angelo (7 March 2010). "PART I: David Bunevacz dragged into Winter Olympics ticket scam". PEP.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Broken rules, a failed deal and a frenzy over Olympic tickets". The Seattle Times. February 27, 2010.
  10. ^ Ching, Mark Angelo (March 7, 2010). "Part I; David Bunevacz dragged into Winter Olympics ticket scam". PEP.ph.
  11. ^ Branch, Alfred Jr. (March 29, 2010). "Action Seating files lawsuit in alleged fraud case over Winter Olympics tickets".
  12. ^ "Filippo Marchino's Legal Cases-Bunevacz v. Action Seating Los Angeles Superior Court Case - BC432901". Avvo.com. March 3, 2010.
  13. ^ "Criminal Case Summary - Online Services - LA Court". www.lacourt.org. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  14. ^ "Calabasas Man Allegedly Scammed Investors out of at Least $28 Million They Thought Would Fund Cannabis Vaping Businesses". www.justice.gov. 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  15. ^ "Former UCLA decathlete pleads guilty to $28.4 million cannabis-vaping scam". Los Angeles Daily News. July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  16. ^ "David Bunevacz agrees to plead guilty to securities, wire fraud". GMA News. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  17. ^ "Former UCLA decathlete gets 17 years for $28 million scam". Los Angeles Daily News. November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  18. ^ "Bunevacz Weds Jessica Four Times | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online". Mb.com.ph. 2000-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
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