In the sun-drenched, celebrity-filled hills of Calabasas, California, the mansion of David Bunevacz and his wife, actress Jessica Rodriguez, was a beacon of Filipino-American success. It was a venue for lavish parties attended by models and businessmen, a home once rumored to belong to Kylie Jenner. Their life was a fantasy of private yachts in the Bahamas, Gucci suits, and “Crazy Rich Asians” themed birthdays. But this extravagant empire was a house of cards, built on a foundation of lies and funded by a massive $35 million Ponzi scheme that would ultimately bring its charismatic king crashing down.

David Bunevacz’s story began with the promise of a golden boy. Born in Los Angeles to a Filipina mother and a Hungarian father, he was a gifted athlete who excelled in the decathlon. Under his father’s coaching, he shattered high school records and earned a full athletic scholarship to UCLA, where he set a school record in the javelin throw. In the late 1990s, he answered the call to represent his mother’s homeland, winning a silver medal for the Philippines in the 1997 SEA Games. He returned to the country a hero, quickly parlaying his fame into a career in showbiz and marrying into celebrity royalty with Jessica Rodriguez.

But beneath the charming, athletic exterior, a pattern of deceit was already forming. In 1999, his then-girlfriend, former beauty queen Anjanette Abayari, was arrested in Guam for drug possession. From her cell, she accused David of not only planting the drugs but also of selling her car and Rolex without her knowledge while she was detained. Later, he and Jessica opened a high-end cosmetic clinic in Makati, but as investors poured in money with no returns, the couple’s personal wealth mysteriously grew. Accused of embezzling ₱20 million, they fled the Philippines in 2007, leaving a trail of angry investors behind.

In California, David refined his craft. Armed with a degree in Business Management and Psychology, he began to orchestrate his most audacious scams. In 2010, he swindled an American ticket reseller out of $2 million in a fake 2010 Winter Olympics ticket scheme, bankrupting the man. But his masterpiece was a sprawling Ponzi scheme centered around fake CBD oil and vape companies. He created shell corporations with names like CB Holdings Group and Sir Brutus LLC, even fabricating associations with celebrities like Snoop Dogg to lend an air of legitimacy.

His method was a masterclass in psychological manipulation. He would befriend potential victims, drawing them into his orbit with his incredible lifestyle. He flew one couple, Meredith and Tom, along with 30 guests to the Bahamas for his wedding anniversary, chartering a yacht and gifting Tiffany & Co. earrings to everyone. On another trip to Las Vegas, he gave each guest $5,000 in cash and challenged them to spend it in a day. Witnessing this seemingly endless fountain of wealth, his new friends were easily convinced to invest their life savings—in Meredith and Tom’s case, $250,000—into his vape businesses.

Of course, the businesses were fake. The money from new investors was used to pay fake “dividends” to earlier ones, creating the illusion of a profitable enterprise. The rest funded the Bunevacz family’s obscene spending: the $17,000-a-month rent on the Calabasas mansion, a $500,000 horse for their daughter Briana’s equestrian hobby, and David’s own multi-million dollar gambling habit.

The scheme finally collapsed when victims began reporting him to the authorities in 2020. The FBI quietly built a case, and on the morning of April 5, 2022, agents knocked on the door of his mansion and arrested him. Facing a mountain of evidence, David took a plea deal and pleaded guilty. While the prosecutor recommended a 10-year sentence, Judge Dale S. Fischer of the Central District of California saw no genuine remorse in the con man before her. Believing he was only sorry he got caught, she sentenced him to 17.5 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay back the $35 million he stole.

Today, David Bunevacz resides in a low-security prison. His family’s world has been shattered. The Calabasas mansion is gone, and they have reportedly moved in with his parents. Jessica Rodriguez, who claims she was unaware of his criminal activities, has spoken about the deep depression and suicidal thoughts she faced after the truth was revealed. While she and her daughter have attempted to re-enter the public eye through a reality TV show, the shadow of David’s epic scam looms large. The story of the SEA Games hero turned Ponzi King is a devastating cautionary tale of how a life of celebrated success can be nothing more than an elaborate, and destructive, lie.