Judge revokes bond of fraudster with history of evading court

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A federal judge Monday revoked the bail of a former San Francisco real estate investor who successfully evaded a bench warrant for six months following his January arrest over shooting threats near Thornton State Beach.U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa J. Cisneros said she was not confident that Luke Brugnara would abide by the conditions of his release and appear for future court dates. Cisneros attempted to issue her ruling from the bench but was interrupted multiple times by Brugnara, who insisted the judge was prejudiced against him and “seizing my liberty.”“I am excited to come to the court and win this case. I am innocent and have the presumption of innocence, and you are treating me like I am not innocent,” Brugnara told the judge. “You don’t care, you don’t give a damn whether I die.”Brugnara was escorted out by two court marshals while continuing to shout at the judge.“When I win at trial, how can you put an innocent man in jail?” he asked.Brugnara, 62, was on pretrial bond for charges stemming from a pandemic-era fraud scheme. Prosecutors say Brugnara submitted fraudulent loan applications for federal relief programs in 2021 on behalf of his real estate investment business, Brugnara Corporation, receiving over $400,000 in federal assistance.Brugnara was indicted in May 2024 on nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.In August 2024, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney, a Bill Clinton appointee, directed Brugnara to be released from custody with conditions that he would not commit any crimes or possess a firearm.However, prosecutors moved to revoke his bail in February following a Jan. 21 altercation where Brugnara was arrested for possessing a firearm and threatening to shoot two people for trespassing at Thornton State Beach in Daly City, California.Prosecutors claim Brugnara and his girlfriend, Yitong Wen, approached a couple walking their dog at the fence line, with Brugnara telling them: “If you get near the fence I will shoot and kill you” and “I have a gun and if you come on my property I’ll shoot you.” A sign on the fence read “Private Property No Trespassing Owner Armed with 9MM Gun” and “Trespasser(s) will be shot.”Brugnara admitted to putting up the fence, but denied posting the sign, according to prosecutors. The San Francisco Chronicle found Brugnara owned a small portion of the land where he built the fence through a limited liability company. Still, city officials said the fence was built without the required permits, and it was removed later that month.Brugnara never showed up for the February bond revocation hearing; however, he continued to file court documents demanding his bond conditions be reinstated, prosecutors say. He was apprehended by U.S. Marshals last Thursday, fleeing from the officers before climbing on the roof of a nearby church, where he was caught, according to prosecutors.At Monday’s hearing, Brugnara denied knowing about the February court date and said he made every effort to ensure he was in contact with pretrial services and his attorney. He described his life as “passive,” and said he had been living in the Sunset District while awaiting trial, which was scheduled to begin June 1.“I am zealously excited to go to trial,” he told the judge. “When this snafu happened, I wanted to get in to set the record straight … I wanted to come in to vindicate myself on this PPP claim.”Brugnara further denied the government’s account of his capture, refuting that he climbed on a church roof when officers showed up to arrest him and claiming they never identified themselves as law enforcement.“I am not a flight risk; the fact that I stayed within a mile of this courthouse, I was conducting my life peacefully, I was prepared to show up,” he said. “The last date I was notified of was the trial court date. I am innocent; I am not on probation.”Brugnara’s lawyer, Matthew Dirkes of Illovsky Gates & Calia, proposed additional conditions of release including an ankle monitor and $50,000 cash bond that he said would ensure Brugnara shows up to court.The bond would be guaranteed by the landlord of the residence he was renting in the Sunset District for six months, Dirkes said. Brugnara added that he had known her for 20 years, and she was an “esteemed executive” at an international investment bank.However, prosecutors argued that an ankle monitor would not be enough, given Brugnara’s history. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aseem Padukone also raised issue with his landlord serving as the custodian of his bond, saying the government was concerned she was knowingly harboring a fugitive during the six months he lived there while he had an active bench warrant.Cisneros said she would take the motion under submission, but stated she would order Brugnara detained. A motion from Dirkes to withdraw as Brugnara’s attorney — initially scheduled for after the bail revocation hearing — was postponed to a later date.Dirkes declined to comment following the hearing.A representative from the U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Brugnara has a long history with the court. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to making false statements and violating the Endangered Species Act, receiving a 15-month sentence. He additionally pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns in a separate case, resulting in a 30-month sentence.In June 2014, Brugnara was indicted after ordering and receiving what was alleged to be $11 million worth of art, including an Edgar Degas sculpture cast in bronze by the Valsuani foundry for an art museum Brugnara said he was planning to build in San Francisco.When art dealer Rose Long demanded payment after shipping the art in five crates to Brugnara’s home, Brugnara claimed the art was a gift and refused to pay. Law enforcement seized four of the five crates of art; however, as of 2015, the Degas remains missing.A jury convicted Brugnara in May 2015 on two counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of making false declarations to the court, escape and contempt. Brugnara briefly escaped from the San Francisco federal building before trial when he was taken from jail to meet with his former attorney Erik Babcock.Acting as his own lawyer at trial, Brugnara badgered witnesses, interrupted proceedings for verbal sparring matches with former U.S. District Judge William Alsup and federal prosecutors, and was held in contempt multiple times for attempting to sneak in evidence that had been declared inadmissible. He was eventually sentenced to seven years in prison, which the Ninth Circuit affirmed in 2017. He was released from custody in 2021.Further, in 2023, Alsup revoked Brugnara’s release and sentenced him to more than a year in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release, including possessing a firearm that was registered to his girlfriend, according to prosecutors. Brugnara failed to appear at his March 2023 sentencing hearing and evaded a bench warrant for nearly two months before being arrested in May 2023.A year later, prosecutors say he was transferred to a halfway house to serve the remainder of his term, where he racked up two escape notices. Brugnara was arrested six days after the second escape notice in May 2024 in a hotel room near San Francisco Airport with his girlfriend, they say.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