Former San Francisco real estate investor claims prosecutorial misconduct, demands court dismiss charges

The judge denied Luke Brugnara’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct but set a later court date to hear his claim of unreasonable delay of prosecution.SAN FRANCISCO — In his first federal court appearance since being released from pretrial custody, former San Francisco real estate investor Luke Brugnara told a judge Wednesday that charges against him related to reported false loan applications for pandemic-era relief programs should be dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct.Monologuing to the court, Brugnara claimed Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya Karwande obstructed justice and intentionally lied to a magistrate judge following Senior U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney’s Sept. 9 order releasing Brugnara from pretrial custody, so long as he met certain conditions.Brugnara insisted Karwande be investigated and prosecuted for her actions throughout three bail hearings held in front of the U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa J. Cisneros, in which Karwande raised concerns about the source of the $50,000 cashier’s check Brugnara intended to put up for bail.Brugnara also blamed Karwande for the additional days he spent in detention due to an outstanding warrant from San Mateo County that was issued on Sept. 14, the same day Cisneros ordered his release from pretrial custody.At the time, San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said the charges filed against Brugnara dated back to November 2025 and stemmed from a potentially fraudulent deed that had been filed and processed.“It’s not like something just occurred, or we just learned of it. It’s something that we’ve been investigating for the last eight months,” he told Courthouse News on Sept. 14.Chesney shot down Brugnara’s attempt to toss the federal charges against him and said she was not going to refer Karwande to prosecution.“There may be a dispute to whatever the ultimate findings were at a hearing on bail that you may disagree with; either way, there is no crime she can be prosecuted for, so we are not dealing with that,” she said.However, the judge also denied the government’s request to strike Brugnara’s motion to dismiss for unreasonable delay in prosecution, setting a hearing date of Dec. 2.“What happened between the time he got the loan and the time someone said ‘Okay, we are going to say he committed a crime?’” Chesney, a Bill Clinton appointee, asked. “If there was a period of time where someone said ‘We should’ve filed this earlier,’ one could look at that and see if it affected Mr. Brugnara’s ability to defend against the charge.”Karwande argued the court should toss Brugnara’s dismissal request, because he submitted the motions pro se, despite being represented by Matthew Dirkes of Illovsky Gates & Calia.Dirkes previously represented Brugnara before the court granted Brugnara’s request to represent himself. Brugnara later stated that he would give up his pro se status if released from jail.Brugnara told Chesney he believed he was representing himself until the Oct. 14 hearing. Following repeated questioning from the judge, he formally withdrew his pro se request, with Dirkes once again appointed counsel of record.Dirkes asked the court to allow Brugnara to leave home confinement for walks two hours a day due to medical concerns. Chesney was skeptical of the request but said she would allow the parties to brief on the matter.“The last time Mr. Brugnara was released, over serious objection, he then came in week after week after week chipping away at the conditions he originally agreed to,” she said. “So I have that in mind in connection with whatever you may file.”Representatives for the government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Speaking to Courthouse News after the hearing, Brugnara reiterated his accusations against Karwande.Brugnara was indicted in May 2024 on nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.In August 2024, Chesney directed Brugnara to be released from custody on the condition he not commit any crimes or possess a firearm.Prosecutors moved to revoke his bail in February following a Jan. 21 altercation in which Brugnara was arrested for possessing a firearm and threatening to shoot two people for trespassing at Thornton State Beach in Daly City, California.However, Brugnara never showed up for the February bond revocation hearing. He was apprehended by U.S. Marshals on July 30.He returned to federal court Aug. 3 before Cisneros, denying he knew about the February court date. However, the judge ordered him detained, saying she was not confident he would abide by the conditions of his release and appear for future court dates.Chesney affirmed Cisneros’ order on Aug. 11, leading Brugnara to offer larger and more expansive bail packages to reasonably assure his appearance in court. After six hearings in over five weeks, Chesney was finally appeased with the offer of a $50,000 cashier’s check and a $100,000 bail bond and, on Sept. 9, ordered the parties back to Cisneros to ensure that all conditions were met before releasing Brugnara.Cisneros directed Brugnara to be released from federal custody on Sept. 14. However, he says he was held an additional five days due to the warrant in San Mateo County before he was released on bail.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads